Proof Positive
by J R Mai
Summary: 5 short novels, 1 crazy pregnancy! How would Plumverse have changed if the pregnancy test had been positive? AU Alternate Ending to Plum Scary/Fearless, following into Notorious 19, Takedown 20, Top Secret 21, and now Plum Crazy! Links to the end of chapter 16 in Fearless and the end of chapter 21 of Plum Scary. Original titles Meredith's Fire and Heat of Winter for sale on Amazon!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Ranger

It wasn't the car explosion that had shaken Ranger so much. The danger had moved on before the bomb went off, tearing open yet another one of Stephanie's cars. Alarms were singing, the air filled with dying embers, and Stephanie Plum was under him. Thrown to the ground in the concussive blast. She was too dazed to answer him at first. It made his precision focus blur until she finally opened her eyes. Reflecting the open sky.

It was a relief that she was conscious, but that was only part of his worry. He'd asked his men to treat her like glass for a reason. He just hadn't told them why. He looked down into Steph's expressive blue eyes and hoped like hell that she hadn't fallen hard enough to do any damage.

He waited a moment before he pulled her to sitting. Letting her get her bearings. Of course, her first thought was the burning car in front of her. The one she'd spent nearly half her recovery money acquiring. That broke through his fear just enough to let him smile. Steph had a talent for that. If she would let him, he'd replace it with anything her heart desired. As long it was bullet proof and flame retardant.

Tank and Ramon came running, but there wasn't anything they'd be able to do now. What Ranger needed now was reassurance that she was okay. Her and whatever else she might have on board. He gave Tank the _you're-handling-this-shit_ look. "I'm taking her to the hospital."

"No, I'm okay," Steph insisted.

"Babe."

"I'm fine. I swear. I'm just a little shaken. It's not my first car explosion either."

He held her gaze, saying with a look what he wouldn't say out loud. Steph had been in deep denial about the possibility from the beginning. Because that cheap test she took had come out negative. He knew this wasn't something she wanted. Knew just how much it would screw up the life she thought she'd have. And he knew it wasn't fair for him to have any feelings on it one way or the other. But the bare fact was, Steph was nine days late. Unless something more concrete proved otherwise, he had to consider the ever growing possibility that she might be pregnant. That she might have a part of him growing inside her that would mark her as his. She frowned a little like she'd read his thoughts. "There's nothing to worry about," she said pointedly.

"Do you know that for certain?"

She opened her mouth to tell him yes, but she couldn't. There was no proof otherwise, and she knew it. "I'm just a little scraped up. I'll be fine."

Digging in her heels. Didn't want to believe it was still a possibility. He wouldn't argue his case in front of his men. This was a private matter between them. Last thing he needed was for a whisper to move through his ranks. She didn't deserve that. But hell would freeze over before he would let this go. On the cruel chance Steph really was carrying his child, he wasn't about to take any chances. He'd just have to prove it to her.

He packed her into the Turbo and started for Rangeman. "You really should let me take you to the hospital."

"No. I know the checking out you want done has nothing to do with my injuries and the last thing I need is for someone at St. Francis to overhear the word pregnant."

"I don't have to take you to St. Francis."

She shook her head again. "It's just some skin on my elbows. Not a big deal."

"We'll see about that," he said quietly.

She'd tried to protest when she realized where they were headed. Protesting wouldn't make any difference. They couldn't do this at her apartment. Especially with the chance Morelli might show up again. If Ranger got his proof, things between he and Steph were about to get very real. Last thing he needed was Morelli getting in the way.

He brought her up to his penthouse apartment and tossed his keys onto the sideboard before he dragged her into his bedroom. He sat her on his bed and got the first aid kit and the box he'd had shipped to the pawn shop. He tossed it on the bed next to her.

"What's that?" she asked when he started cleaning her wounds. He didn't answer right away. Not sure just how to say it. The scrapes weren't that bad. A couple layers of skin on her elbows. No gravel or debris. She winced when he cleaned the worse of the two with an alcohol swab.

"Leverage," he finally said. Her curiosity made her open the package. He didn't stop her. Better to just get it over with. He could see the _oh boy_ all over her face when she saw the pregnancy test. Then she got a flash of panic when she realized it was the box they'd picked up from Gregorio. Ranger shook his head. "He doesn't know what was in it. I purchased it online through an alias and had it shipped to him to avoid a connection to Rangeman. I admit, it might have been excessive as far as secrecy is concerned, but it was safer than walking into a drugstore if you're avoiding gossip."

It was an untraceable technique he'd used to acquire things in the past. Things that were either illegal or incriminating in some other way. This wasn't likely to raise any red flags, but considering the impact even the implication would have on her life, he wasn't about to take any chances.

"So why is it leverage?"

He lifted her other elbow so that he could see it. "If it's positive, you let me take you to a hospital."

It took her a second to run down all her options. She didn't have any. "Fine," she said on a sigh. He fought a smile. He was in such deep trouble and he didn't even care.

He finished patching her up and she closed herself into his bathroom. He stretched out on his side of the bed, willing himself to relax. Trying very hard not to think about what might happen next. Nothing good ever came from considering the future, but staring down the barrel of possible fatherhood again made it nearly impossible not to.

The door opened too soon. Steph standing in the opening looking nervous and unsure. Cute. She'd come to wait with him. He crooked a finger at her. "Come here."

"Haven't we done this before?"

"The circumstances were a little different then."

"How."

He grabbed her the second she entered his strike zone, dragging her on top of him until he could roll her underneath. Relishing the feel of her. She always felt incredible rubbing against his body like that. But it was more this time. The deep, glowing heat in his chest stronger than in the rest of him. "For starters," he said, gathering her into him. "We weren't sexually active at the time, and you weren't in my apartment taking a pregnancy test."

She made a little whimper when he kissed her. Relaxing into him like she knew they should be one. He let his knee press into her center when her thighs parted for him. Wanted to touch every part of her at once. A promise of what could be if they let it. The test only needed three minutes, but it was getting harder to care. She melted when he tasted her throat. "I'm not sure this is a good idea."

He grinned against her skin. "Babe, I might have already knocked you up. What's the worst that could happen?"

She didn't get a chance to answer. Her phone had started to ring. Pulling her attention away. "Don't answer it."

"I have to answer it. What if it's important?"

"What if it's not?"

"My car was just blown up. There are people who will want to know I didn't die."

Damn. She was right. He was already being unforgivably selfish just putting her in this position. Not only had he knocked her up, he couldn't even keep his hands off her long enough to confirm it. Letting the people who love her suffer so he could be inside of her would be beyond selfish.

He lifted off her enough to let her reach her bag. She made a guilty little grimace when she saw who was calling. "It's Morelli."

Perfect. Morelli would have already gotten the full report by now. He'd know there hadn't been casualties. Ranger focused on her neck again, gratified when she trembled. He already had his hands under her shirt, but it wasn't enough. He pushed the shirt out of the way and kissed her sternum, then her belly, inching his way down toward the place his baby might be growing.

"I can't not answer."

"No one's stopping you." In fact, the longer that phone rang, the more he was liking the idea of pulling her pants down while Morelli was listening on the other line. Kissing the parts of her that would make it hard for her not to pant and coo. Steph held out as long as she could before she answered, half desperate. "Joe?"

"Steph, you alright?" Morelli's voice came through the phone. "Where are you?"

About to come in Ranger's bed, that's where. Ranger didn't stop the wicked grin. Steph rolled her eyes at him. She got a reprieve when the alarm beeped in the bathroom. Literally the only thing that could pull his attention away. He got off the bed. Shutting down the emotions that were fighting in his body. It wasn't productive to get invested in the answer. Not yet. Not until he knew what she would decide. No matter the results, there was no guarantee things would work out well for him.

The test he'd bought was expensive and high tech. Digital readout that would tell them not only whether she was pregnant, but how many weeks she might be if she was. He detached his thoughts as he picked up the little white stick and read the display.

ooo

Steph

Ranger stepped out of the bathroom and leaned against the doorframe, the little white stick in his hands, his expression infuriatingly empty. Oh god. Oh god oh god. What did it say?

Joe's voice was in my ear again and it took me a second to understand it. "You want me to come pick you up?"

"Umm. Aren't you working?"

"We're waiting on some forensics reports. I could slip away for an hour or two."

"No. That's okay. I'm in good hands here."

"That's what I'm worried about," he said quietly. Don't think I was supposed to hear that part. "You'll call me if you need anything, right?"

"Yes. I will, I promise."

"Okay," he said, realizing he didn't have much of a choice. "I love you."

"Me too." I waited until he disconnected and then looked at Ranger, dread filling the pit of my stomach. "Well?"

His eyes dropped to the test again before they held mine. His face still empty. Then he crossed the room. Sitting on the bed in front of me. My heart in my throat when he gave me the test.

 _1-2 weeks._

My brain shut down. Completely blank. "What does that mean?"

"It means you're one to two weeks pregnant."

"That's not possible."

The corner of his mouth twitched. "Babe."

"But—I don't understand! How did this happen?"

"Well, Babe. When a man and a women love each other very much—"

UGH! I punched him in the arm, but he didn't care. He just laughed at me. His amusement kept the panic at bay for about twenty seconds. Then reality hit. "Omigod. This can't be happening. What am I going to do? I can't be…" I saw it when his smile faded. Reality must have hit him too. Cripes. This wasn't supposed to happen. I wasn't ready. And Ranger. Shit. This wasn't in Ranger's plan at all. He wasn't going to do anything stupid like marriage or pregnancy, and yet here he was. A father again because I'd forgotten to take a couple of tiny little pills. Oh god. I could feel the tears, but I couldn't stop them. They welled up and spilled over. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

His face was guarded. "What exactly are you sorry for, Babe?"

"For getting pregnant!"

"Babe, it wasn't something you did on purpose."

"But if I hadn't told you I was on the pill—"

His hand covered mine. "Steph. I took that risk with you. Knowing full well what the consequences might be. I don't hold you responsible."

"But. I didn't know that I'd missed some pills. I tried to take them all at once, but…" I bit my lip. "Obviously that didn't help." Ranger didn't say anything. He just studied me, his hand still warm and firm around mine. I wouldn't blame him if he was pissed. I'd just made his solitary life a hellovalot more complicated. Then a thought cut through me. "Oh god. My mother's going to have a heart attack."

Ranger's thumb stroked my hand. "Babe. You don't have to tell her."

"Of course I have to tell her! Even if I don't, I think she's going to notice when I get all fat and…Omigod. I'm going to get fat!"

A curious look slipped through his Fort Knox expression. "You're thinking about keeping it?"

I was completely flabbergasted for a second. "Of course. I can't not keep it. I mean…Oh god, did you want to…"

He shook his head. "It's your decision, Babe."

I let that sink in. My decision. Not ours. Mine. I'd just assumed from the way he'd been acting that he'd take responsibility with me. He was the one who remembered I shouldn't drink. Filled my fridge with health food and switched me to decaf. Worried when I fell that it might have hurt the baby. Why would he do all that if we weren't in this together?

He must have read my mind again because he grabbed hold of my folded knees and pulled me toward him across the bed until I was almost in his lap. "Steph, I didn't mean you were doing this alone. I just meant that I wouldn't influence your decisions."

"I don't even know what decisions I can make. I'm already pregnant."

The corner of his mouth twitched. I was amusing him again. "First things first. You promised if the test was positive, you'd let me take you to a doctor."

"Is that really necessary?"

"Yes."

I felt a little cornered. Didn't really have a lot of wiggle room to refuse. This time he smiled.

"Is it safe to assume you would rather go to a private doctor instead of a hospital?"

"That does sound less painful."

Ranger leaned over me to kiss my head and got up to go into his office. He leafed through a few pages and dialed a number on his cell. Listened to it ring a second. "Yes. I need a referral for an obstetrician. That would be fine." He listened some more while they transferred him. "I need your next available appointment for a new patient. My girlfriend is almost six weeks pregnant and she was just knocked to the ground due to a concussive blast from an IED. We'd like to make sure there wasn't any injury to her or the baby."

That didn't compute for a full minute. I wasn't sure if it was the matter of fact way he said I'd been blown up. Or maybe it was the easy use of the word baby, like he wasn't in shock at all. There might have been something else, too. Couldn't put my finger on it.

"Sure. I'd appreciate it. We can be there in twenty minutes. Thank you."

My jaw was still hanging when he disconnected and turned to look at me. Amused that I was speechless. "You said girlfriend."

"And?"

"And you don't do relationships."

His eyes were crinkling at the edges when they dropped to my belly. "Babe."

"What? I'm pregnant and all of a sudden I'm your girlfriend?"

A smile quirked up at the corner of his mouth. "They're holding an opening for us. We should probably go now."

"Wait, hang on a second! You can't just say something like that and then drop it!"

"Clock's ticking."

"Ugh! You are so impossible!" I flopped back on the bed.

Ranger was laughing when he came over, the mattress dipping under his weight. He leaned over me. "Babe. I know this is a lot to take in all at once. This wasn't something either of us planned, and there are still a lot of variables that need to be settled. That was just the easiest way to describe our association to the physician's assistant."

"So I'm _not_ your girlfriend."

Again, the smile. "Do you want to be?"

"I don't know. Everything's upside-down. This morning I woke up with Morelli in my kitchen and now Mr. I-don't-do-relationships is throwing words around."

"Babe. I promised I wouldn't try to influence your decisions. Truth is, at this point you could have pretty much anything you want. Within reason."

"What does that even mean?"

I was amusing him again. "Would you like me to lay out some options?" I nodded. Ranger tucked a stray curl behind my ear, lingering at my temple. "Well. It's worth saying right off the bat that financial support is non-negotiable. And I don't just mean the baby. I'll be covering all your medical bills, food, housing, and transportation. And when I say transportation, I mean something I'd actually allow the mother of my child to drive. It will be reliable, safe, and most likely bulletproof."

"Hard to argue with that."

He didn't hide the smile that time. "Beyond that, there's a lot of gray area," he said, stroking my cheek. "I can't make too many promises. But if you keep your demands to the immediate future, there's not much that's off the table."

"Like what?"

"Well." He lowered his weight on me again, lifting my hand to his lips. "You've pretty much had an open invitation to share my closet for a while now."

"But for how long?"

"As long as you want."

I blew out a sigh. "What happened to I'd have to leave your bed eventually?"

"That was more for you than it was for me."

Our eyes held. "What?"

Ranger was looking immeasurably patient. Maybe to the point of sainthood. "When I said I wasn't going to do anything stupid, like marriage or pregnancy, that was a promise I was trying to make to you. That I wouldn't tie you down to someone like me."

"Explain."

"I can't. And if I did, you'd wish I hadn't. It's a crime against you that I'm even open to this at all. If you weren't in such a precarious position because of my actions, I'd be telling you to run for the hills."

"What precarious position?"

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Babe. Is there any chance this baby isn't mine?"

"No."

"And do you still see yourself with Morelli even after having my child?"

I bit my lip. Cripes. Way to put it all out there. "No," I admitted against my will.

"Then it's my duty to take care of you." His eyes searched my face. "The truth is, I've been looking for an excuse to keep you ever since Hawaii. I like sharing space with you. I like having you in my bed. I like loving you. And now I have a legitimate reason to claim you for my own."

"Wow."

"Yeah. As I said. What you want is up to you. If you want to stay in your apartment when things have calmed down again, I'll be happy to pay for it. Whether you keep skip tracing or not. And if you want to save me some money, you're welcome to move into Rangeman. In fact, I have to admit I kinda like the idea of your cute little clothes in my closet. And if you want to talk labels, we can talk labels."

"Like girlfriend?"

"Yes. Like girlfriend."

"What about fiancée or wife?"

"Don't push it." I gave him an innocent smile and he laughed. Kissing my lips before he lifted off me again, offering me a hand to help me up. "Come on. We have a doctor to see."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two

Ranger

Ranger pulled Steph to her feet, grateful that she was able to stand on her own without wobbling. Part of him had been afraid she'd be in shock. Steph was highly adaptable, but it would be hard to blame her if the sudden course correction didn't jar her at least a little. He'd prepared himself for the possibility that she was pregnant, and even he was a little thrown. Enough that the word girlfriend had slipped right out of his subconscious and out into the open. It wasn't something he'd intended to broach. He knew that his hold on Steph was tenuous at best. Seemed he'd thought it so much in the last few days that when the moment came and he finally knew with certainty that he could take sole responsibility for her, the relief had made him stupid.

At least she hadn't freaked. Steph had always been gun shy when it came to him. Rightly so. She'd been trying desperately to protect herself all these years. Just went to prove she was smarter than he was. Because while he was focusing on the searing sexual attraction between them, she'd been holding him at arm's length with that cute little smile. The one that warmed his heart and slipped under his guard until he not only loved her. He needed her.

Thank god she was pregnant.

Ranger didn't bother suggesting she change her clothes, since the blood and soot would help get them in a room quicker. Not that she didn't have clothes in his closet. A few token offerings from her previous stays. He'd been careful to make sure there were always at least a couple days worth for her. Ever hopeful that one thing or another would lead her to sleep in his bed. Even without sex.

Though, obviously, he preferred it when they had sex.

He called Tank on the walk to the elevator. His friend answered in that hard, deep voice of his. "What's your ETA?" Ranger asked him.

"We're nearly through here. What's up?"

"I finally convinced Steph to let me take her in. I'll probably be offline for about an hour."

"You need me to handle the afternoon client meetings? Or clear your schedule and back you up, since there's a price on both your heads."

"The latter. See we're covered on all bases. I don't want to take any chances."

"Copy that."

Ranger slid the phone back into his pocket. Knowing that there would be four men on their six the moment they left the garage. Hanging back so Steph wouldn't notice. She wouldn't understand the necessity. She'd dealt with her share of psychopaths before, but they'd been lone wolfs. Outliers. Her closest experience was being hunted by the Slayers. They were small time compared to this.

It took ten minutes to drive to the office. Lucky for him, his personal physician owned a private practice with several other specialists, including an obstetrician. The building was state of the art and secure, thanks to Rangeman. With a special talent for discretion and more firewalls than the Whitehouse. Even Tank would assume he was taking her to his primary care.

As he'd expected, their appearance got an instant response. The nurses were wide eyed. Didn't hesitate to show them to a private room. It would speed up the doctor's appearance too. Blood always did.

Steph was very nervous. Sitting on the edge of the patient bed in her linen hospital gown with her feet dangling. The paper crinkling when she shifted. Ranger was able to fill out most of the paperwork for her so she wouldn't have to stress. Including insurance. It was probably better that way, given her delicate shade of green. He doubted she even realized she was still covered as a Rangeman employee. For now, at least. Adding her to his private insurance was one of those variables that needed settling.

The doctor came in a few minutes later and offered Ranger a hand. "Mr. Manoso. I was quite surprised to hear you were coming in. Even more surprised to hear why. This is your girlfriend?"

"Stephanie Plum," he said. Careful to be non-committal. Labeling her his girlfriend had helped get her in right away, considering his relationship with the practice. Still, best to tread lightly. Steph wasn't exactly conventional. It was hard to predict her reaction. He moved from between them so they could shake hands. "Steph, this is Doctor Weston. He's the best OBGYN in the city."

Doctor Weston grinned. "Baseless flattery, but I'll take it. So, we're here to make sure everybody's in good health, huh? You've confirmed the pregnancy?"

"Yes. The digital test said 1-2 weeks. According to her math, we're figuring she's between 5 and 6 weeks gestation." He looked at Steph to confirm that, but she was sitting pretty still. Only half listening. He was almost afraid to hear what was going on in that pretty little head of hers. Whatever it was, he was betting it wasn't in his favor.

"Well, let's just get a look, shall we?" Doctor Weston said. It took Steph a second to respond when he asked her to lie down. Ranger took her hand. Hoping it would give her some comfort. He should have felt guilty. She was struggling with this, half in shock, and yet here he was. Grateful. He was such an ass.

Steph winced when the probe went in. Gave his hand a squeeze. He lifted it to his lips and she relaxed just a little. They all watched the screen. Ranger didn't have a lot of experience reading ultrasounds, but he recognized the black cavity Doctor Weston was searching. Then he saw the fuzzy white lump on the edge of the pool.

God. It really was true.

Stephanie Plum was having his baby.

ooo

Steph

"Yep. There it is," the doctor said. "About the size of a grain of rice, but it's definitely in there."

Oh god. There went any hope I might have had that it wasn't true. I was trying to read the screen. See what both he and Ranger seemed to be seeing. But it was all just lumpy, indistinct fuzz to me. Maybe I wasn't smart enough to read it. Which would mean the baby might not be smart. And what about luck? I wouldn't wish my luck on anybody, especially a baby. My baby. Oh god. Reality was swirling around my head like a dream. Too surreal to hold onto. Then I felt Ranger's lips on my ear. "Deep breaths, Babe. Just focus on one thing at a time."

I nodded and drew in a slow breath. All I managed to do was make myself sick. Ranger gave my hand a squeeze. Pressing a kiss to my cheek.

"It's hard to see much this early, but there it is." The doctor pointed out a white shadow in the pocket of black. "Everything looks just as it's supposed to. Textbook, actually. No bleeding. No anomalies. I don't think you have anything to worry about."

There was a little relief mixed in with the nervous terror. It didn't help with the sick feeling. The doctor started asking questions, but I could hardly keep my thoughts straight. It was a good thing Ranger wasn't as freaked out as I was. In fact, he didn't seem fazed at all. Dr. Weston caught my eye. His expression somewhere between concern and amusement. "I'm guessing this wasn't a planned pregnancy."

"Not nearly," Ranger answered. I could hear his smile. Jerk. He must have thought my grimace was cute because he laughed softly, kissing my hand again.

"Could I speak with Ms. Plum for a moment?" the doctor asked.

Ranger nodded. And then he was gone and I was feeling very alone. Staring at the doctor I didn't know.

"Ms. Plum, I just have a couple questions. Pretty standard," he assured me when the sick feeling squirmed deeper into my stomach. "What's you're living situation? Do you live with Mr. Manoso? Or on your own?"

"I don't know. I mean, I have my own apartment. But I think Ranger wanted me to stay with him for a little while."

"And do you feel safe?"

I just blinked at him. Did I feel safe? After someone just tried to blow me up? "I don't know how to answer that. The not feeling safe thing is kind of why he wants me to stay with him. My life is…complicated."

He seemed to realize what I meant and clarified. "Do you feel safe with Mr. Manoso?"

That had to run through a filter in my head for a second. Right. The whole big bad wolf thing. "Truth is, the only time I always feel safe is when I'm with him." It suddenly hit me how terrifying it was that that was true. Ranger inspired trust. Complete and total. I might have to worry about my heart, but the rest of me was definitely safe with Ranger. "I know he looks scary—"

"He _is_ scary," Doctor Weston said with a smile. "But I know what you mean. It's not personal. It's a standard question we have to ask every patient. I actually have quite a bit of respect for Mr. Manoso. He's a good man. And surprisingly gentle, it seems. I wouldn't have expected that. Is it safe to assume you've weighted your options?" I nodded. "Alright. I've gone over most of the early prenatal instructions with your boyfriend, but since it looked like you were still sort of checked out I'll give you a brief run down. No undercooked meats or dairy. No smoking or alcohol, and very limited caffeine intake, if any. Moderate exercise is okay, but nothing too strenuous." I must have made a face because he smiled. "Some exercise is important. It will make things easier later on. No heavy lifting, though. And no full contact sports, if you know what I mean. Your boyfriend said you're a bounty hunter."

"On my good days."

"Well. You'll probably be alright for a while, as long as you're careful. We can discuss it further once you enter your second trimester. The further you get in your pregnancy, the more difficult it will be to do the active parts of your job. Most women in law enforcement go to light duty once they hit four or five months. We'll see how you feel and play it by ear."

"I don't have to quit?"

"You can if you want to, but it's not necessary. Think of your uterus as a little pocket filled with water, tucked deep in your body. It's pretty protected. Anything that would hurt the baby would likely hurt you first. As long as you avoid trauma, I don't see why you'd have to worry too much."

"You've clearly never seen me on my not so good days."

He chuckled. "Well. When in doubt, call in the big guns. From what Mr. Manoso said, you'll have a small army at your disposal. Guess there are some benefits to being with the owner of an elite security firm, right?"

"Right."

Dr. Weston gave me an indulgent smile. "You'll be fine," he said with a wink. "You know, it's usually the father that gets dadshock."

I shrugged. "It's not my fault. Ranger's good at everything."

He laughed again. "Well. You'll get there. If anything comes up, come in and see me right away. Some women experience fatigue, nausea, mood swings. That's all normal. But if you have any bleeding or symptoms like dizziness, call me. It might indicate there's a problem. We'll have Emily make you an appointment for when you reach twelve weeks. In the meantime, you'll need to start prenatal vitamins. And no more explosions, alright?"

"Funny."

"I try."

Ranger was waiting for me when I came back out, dressed again in my dirty jeans and ruined t-shirt. He was standing with the nurses. They were all watching him like he was an exotic, dangerous animal. He smiled when he saw me. Slipping an arm around my waist. I caught a few looks of envy.

"Everything alright?"

"Yep. He just had to make sure you didn't plan on swallowing me whole, red cape and all."

The grin widened.

We made an appointment for the twelve week mark. Seven weeks felt like a lifetime away from this end. It was hard to believe there was something growing inside of me. A part of Ranger, no less. I didn't really feel any different. You know, aside from the sense of impending doom.

I wonder if carrying a Batbaby will give me superpowers.

Ranger didn't say anything until we were in the Turbo again. He checked the time. "If we head back to Rangeman, we can still make the meeting with Carson. I can have one of my men pick up Rex and some essentials from your apartment. Is there anything specific you want him to grab?"

I bit my lip. I wasn't ready to make any major decisions yet. And moving in with Ranger was pretty major. I was still adjusting to the idea that we were now connected in a very weird and permanent way. He seemed to sense that.

"It's just a temporary measure, Babe. You can do whatever you need to after the danger's passed. I just figured between the price on our heads and the very high likelihood Morelli will show up at your apartment tonight, we would both be better off at Rangeman."

That was a good point. Normally I would like seeing Morelli. He was handsome and funny and cuddly as hell. But that seemed like a lifetime away now too. It was like I was standing on an island. Disconnected from both past and future. Unable to see anything around me but vast, empty ocean.

Ranger's hand closed around mine. "What's going through your head, Steph?"

I honestly didn't know what to tell him. And that was when my vision blurred. My eyes stinging with tears. Everything hit all at once. "Morelli's going to hate me."

"I doubt it," Ranger said. "He'll be pissed, but he's smart enough to recognize this isn't a choice you'd make. I'll be the one to take the heat and I'm good with that. But it's not something either of us should have to worry about right now. Which is why I want you to stay with me."

The tears rolled down my face, but I nodded anyway. That made sense. It didn't stop life as I knew it from ending, but it did make sense. Ranger pulled into the underground garage and turned to me, wiping the shining trail away. Then he leaned over and kissed me. It was gentle at first. The kind of kiss meant to show he cared. But then it deepened all on its own. My fingers curled into his shirt and for just a minute none of it mattered. He pulled back too soon. Letting the last kiss be sweet and lingering.

"We can take this one day at a time. Today isn't any different than yesterday. And tomorrow won't be any different from today."

"Accept everything has changed."

His eyes crinkled at the edges a little as they searched my face. "Not as much as you might think."

I didn't get a chance to ask what that meant. Ranger angled out of the car and came around to open my door. His arm moved around my waist on our way to the elevator. "I still have to meet with Carson about Alvarez. Are you sitting in?"

"No. I'm exhausted. Is it okay if I go upstairs and take a nap?"

I felt him laugh against me. He leaned over and kissed my ear. "You never needed permission to be in my bed, Babe."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Steph

Ranger rode the elevator up to seven and went inside with me. Shedding the singed clothes so he could take a quick shower. I was afraid his back would be burned, what with the smoking T-shirt and all, but when he stripped his shirt off, his skin was just as smooth and caramelly and perfect as it always was over his thick muscles. Damn. I was disappointed when he had to put clothes on again. I thought for a second of asking him to blow Carson off. Curl up in his bed with me. But in the end I chickened out.

Ranger came over to me where I was sitting cross-legged on the end of his bed. Kissed me like a real boyfriend. "Get some rest. I'll be up later."

I nodded and bit my lip. He smiled. Then left me alone in his big, fancy bedroom. I flopped back onto his dreamy mattress. The one he'd as good as invited me to share with him indefinitely.

While I incubate his offspring.

Jeez. I'd just freaked myself out.

Deep breaths, Steph. Today isn't any different than yesterday. Remember that. Yesterday you just didn't know yet that you were growing a Batbaby. Today you do. No big deal, right?

Jeez Louise. Not helping.

I took off my ruined clothes and dropped a clean shirt over my head. Pulled the covers back and slipped down into the incredible, ivory, high thread count sheets that covered Ranger's bed. The ones that smelled fainting of Bulgari Green and Ranger. A pretty intoxicating mixture, if I do say so myself. I'd missed it since I got back from Hawaii.

With a souvenir.

Crap, crap, crap. Get it together, Steph.

I drew in a deep breath and emptied my mind. Took a while, what with all the unhelpful thoughts I was trying not to think. In the end, I tried to focus on Alvarez. It was the only thing that didn't make my stomach queasy. I realized too late that that might actually be a symptom of morning sickness. I squeezed my eyes shut. Praying I could get a do-over like in Groundhog Day.

I only realized I'd been asleep because of the silver edges of dreaming that clung to my brain around the knowledge that I wasn't alone. I was disoriented. Right. Ranger's bed. Which meant the sound in the kitchen was either Ranger or Ella. Felt like Ranger. I heard him set something heavy on the kitchen counter. Then his energy came toward the bedroom, his feet unnaturally silent. Ranger was capable of stealth I could only dream of.

He came into the bedroom and headed straight for his closet with a laundry basket. My laundry basket. Oh boy. He'd said this was temporary, but it was starting to feel an awful lot like moving in. Because at some point in the last few days, I'd obviously crossed over into Bizarro World.

Ranger came out of the walk-in closet and saw me watching him. His eyes warmed. "Feeling better?"

"Hard to say. I had a dream that I was host to an alien parasite that was going to eat my brain."

He was thinking about smiling again. "It's not an alien, Babe. Though from what I hear, the brain eating thing might not be that far off."

"If Val is any indication, it takes at least half your brain cells to grow a person. And a lot of gravy."

The smile won. Ranger came over to the bed and sat next to me. "Carson hadn't heard of any threats against Alvarez, but he said he'd look into it. It may be the threats just weren't documented. I've also contacted Pritchard. He'll follow up on the information Gregorio found on the supplier's connection to Juarez. With any luck, one of them will turn up a new lead."

I nodded. Only half listening. It was hard to concentrate with the casual way Ranger's hand was stroking my leg through the duvet. I wouldn't have even thought about it before. But now, it suddenly felt like it had more meaning. Like this thing between us was real and serious. Two things I never thought possible. Two things that scared the hell out of me.

Ranger was watching carefully. "Earth to Babe."

"Sorry. I think I lost consciousness for a second there."

"Understandable. You've got more on your mind than just the case."

A profound understatement. "You don't?"

"I'm good at compartmentalizing."

I wish I was half as good. I was watching him stroke my leg. He stilled his hand. Leaning over to catch my eye. "What would make this easier for you, Steph?"

"I don't know. I don't even know what this is."

"So you need some definition."

"Might help."

Ranger considered that a moment. "What this is is you having a baby with a man who loves you."

"In your own way."

"In the only way that matters."

Our eyes held. Yep, I was right. Bizarro World. "Tell me about the no promises thing."

"Life is too unpredictable and you deserve better than broken promises. So I'm trying not to make any I don't know I can keep."

"So you're trying to protect me?"

"Trying being the operative word. You're not exactly a cooperative subject." Not sure if I should apologize for that or take offense. I went with a shrug and he laughed. "It's okay, Babe. I love you anyway. In fact, sometimes I even like the trouble. Keeps life interesting."

"At least I'm not boring."

He laughed again, leaning close enough to kiss my head. "Very true. And I think I know a way to improve your mood. How about we order a pizza. Have one of my men pick it up."

"You're trying to buy me off with food?"

"It's a method with a good track record."

"So you're not just feeding the pregnant lady?"

He grinned. "I'm most definitely feeding the pregnant lady," he said, kissing my lips. Then he picked up the phone and hit the button for the control room. "Call in an order to Shorty's for me and have it brought up to seven." And then he hung up.

"No please or thank you?"

"Babe, my men don't expect pleasantries. They expect to get their asses kicked if they step out of line."

"Jeez. Your mother never taught you you'll catch more flies with honey?"

"Oh, she tried," he said, slipping an arm around me to gather me up against his body. "But I have an image to maintain. Besides. I don't have a lot of use for flies. Mostly I chase rats and one very sexy Plum."

"Okay, that's a pretty good answer."

"Just wait. I've got more." He kissed me again, with a whole lot more heat this time. Pressing me back onto his bed with him on top of me. It was deliciously warm and invigorating. The queasy feeling in my stomach eased a little, but the panic alarms were still screaming in my head.

"Won't this make things more complicated?" I asked.

"Actually. Given the circumstances I think it might make things simpler. A relaxed Stephanie is a happy Stephanie. And a happy Stephanie is healthier and less likely to go crazy. That seems safer all around."

"So getting naked with you is good for my health?"

"And what's good for your health is good for the baby. It's a selfless motive, really." He kissed me again, pulling my shirt up and over my head. Then he kissed the rest of me. Lingering with purpose this time over my belly. "And it's worth pointing out that since you're already pregnant, we don't have to worry about birth control anymore."

No more raincoats. I thought back to that one night we'd had without. It had been pretty good. Great, in fact. There'd been an intensity to the way Ranger had made love. Like he'd been holding back before. Like knowing that I trusted him that much was as arousing as the act itself.

And then we'd made a baby.

Ranger seemed to hear my thoughts because he came up to meet my eyes. A gentle smile on his beautiful face. He brushed his lips over mine on his way to my ear. "It's your choice, Babe. But I have to admit, being inside you with nothing between us is one of the most incredible things I've ever experienced. The thought of nine months of that has a definite appeal."

Nine months with Ranger. Was I ready for that? Was I ready for any of this?

He started to relieve me of my jeans and every part of me that wasn't between my ears screamed at my brain to shut up.

Seemed like sound advice.

ooo

Ranger

It took a little convincing to finally get Steph relaxed, but the moment her guard dropped she became the insatiable dynamo he'd grown to love. She forgot herself. Let go of the tension and the fear and just let him have every bit of her. Her breathless screams taking hold of him.

She was his now. Irrevocably. A permanent fixture in his life, no matter what happened between them. He knew it wasn't all going to be that simple, but for the moment at least, he was willing to let it be. Knocking her up wasn't something he would have ever done on purpose. He wasn't that much of an asshole. But he would be damned if he had this one chance and let it pass, trying to be a good guy.

Hell. He was damned anyway. Might as well get the girl. At least for a while. Take the incredible opportunity that had been handed to him. Keep her in his bed as long as possible. If his luck held out, it would be a long time before she felt the need to move on.

He felt the tension in her change when he found the right spot. She didn't have to direct him. Beg or plead. He could read her like he could his own soul. Instinctively knew what she wanted. What she needed. Better than any woman he'd ever been with. She clung to him, her fingers digging into the small of his back when she came apart. He was right there with her. Because of her. The only woman he had ever loved.

He rolled onto his back, fighting to keep his breathing even. Her warm body nestled against him. He savored that. Used to be he knew that every time with her could be the last. It was strange, facing the possibility that might not be true anymore.

There was a knock on the front door. Nollen leaving the pizza. Time to feed the pregnant lady. He grinned, pressing a kiss to her forehead before he left her sweaty and limp on the bed. He snatched up the black silk boxers and pulled them on before he opened the door to get the pizza off the little table in the hall. And found himself face to face with a very startled Nollen.

Nollen tried to hide his embarrassment behind a blank expression. Uncomfortable seeing his boss nearly naked. Especially given that the reason for that nakedness was obvious. It took everything Ranger had to keep the amusement from showing. He folded his arms across his broad chest. Sternly unconcerned with his state of dress. "Protocol is to leave the requested item on the hall table and head back downstairs."

Nollen turned two shades paler. "Woody just told me to knock."

"Woody would know better. If I were you, I'd take it up with him when I got back downstairs."

Nollen didn't move. Just stood there staring resolutely into Ranger's eyes. Not often you see a former Army Sergeant reduced to a deer in the headlights.

"Dismissed."

That brought Nollen back to himself. He vanished as quick as he could into the elevator. Resisting the urge to look back. Ranger shut the door and grinned, letting the chuckle surface. Steph heard him. "What's so funny?" she asked when he came back into the bedroom with the pizza box.

"I think my men have been playing pranks on the new hire. Sent him up here and told him to knock when they knew you were in residence. Only thing they didn't bargain for was a little post coital show. I'm sure they're laughing their asses off in the control room."

"Omigod. The whole building will know in two minutes flat."

"Babe, we're having a baby together. Pretty sure they'll put two and two together when you feel like sharing the news."

She grimaced. Hadn't realized she'd eventually have to tell people she was pregnant. "You mean you're not going to tell them all now so they'll be extra careful and hovery?"

"No Babe. I don't think it's necessary. They follow orders. No explanations required. But even if we don't tell them, I'm sure they'll notice when you start getting fat," he said, adding a grin when she made a face. "When you want to start telling people is up to you. After the first trimester is common. Some even wait until they know the gender at 20 weeks."

"What about your family?"

Ranger considered that a moment while he brought the box to the bed. "It can wait."

She seemed to accept that. Might have figured he wasn't in a big rush to tell his family that he'd gotten another girl pregnant. Or that this time he didn't plan on running to the courthouse to put a ring on her just to legitimize the baby. And it was true that those were things he was going to catch some heat over. But the bigger issue was that he didn't want to get their hopes up. They'd been begging him to settle down for years. This was likely going to stir a pot that was better left simmering. Especially when they realized his attachment to this particular woman. Something he'd been working very hard to hide.

Ranger took a seat against the headboard and nestled Steph into his chest. Kissing her shoulder. Might be nice to keep this between them for at least a little while. Without the confusion and upset of real life. As soon as people found out, things were going to get very complicated.

They ate in companionable silence. Wrapped in a warm glow of gentle affection. Didn't take long for the pizza to be half gone. He only had two slices. Steph had polished off four. He might have attributed that to a more voracious appetite, but that was actually pretty standard for her. Probably would have downed a whole beer too if his apartment hadn't recently become a strict booze-free zone.

"I'm going to take a shower," she said at last. "I still smell like roasted Audi."

"I didn't notice."

"You can't smell that?"

"No. Must be the pregnancy. I've read that it can increase olfactory sensitivity."

"Great. I knew carrying a Batbaby would give me superpowers," she muttered to herself. He tried to hold in a laugh and failed. Lucky for him, she didn't seem to mind. She went into the bathroom and turned on the shower.

Ranger closed the pizza box and brought it back into the kitchen to put the leftovers in the fridge. Steph's phone chirped. The sound was coming from her messenger bag on the counter. He pulled it out. Morelli.

This could go either way.

And Ranger didn't care.

"Yo."

Morelli was silent a second. Maybe checking what number he'd dailed. The frown was obvious when he came back. "Where's Stephanie?"

"Taking a shower. Is there something I can help you with, Detective?"

"Sonofabitch," Morelli said under his breath. Taking a moment to get his anger under control. Ranger tried not to find satisfaction in that. It would make him a major dick. He was only partially successful. Morelli's voice was tight when he came back on the line. "Are you fucking my girlfriend?"

 _You mean my girlfriend_. Ranger tried not to smile. It wasn't his place to say it, but he had no doubt Morelli would find out soon enough. No way that cork wasn't getting popped first. "Stephanie's car was blown up, as I'm sure you've heard. It took some convincing to get her to see a doctor. Now she's in the shower washing off the smell."

Morelli digested that. Hard to tell if he noticed that Ranger hadn't answered the question. If he did, he moved on without pressing it. Didn't really want to know. "Is it safe to assume you didn't bring her here before you dragged her off to your lair?"

"There wasn't time. I had a meeting."

Morelli murmured something about small favors. "So there's no way she had a chance to find the little surprise that was left for her in her fridge?"

"What surprise?"

"A severed head. Used to belong to Skeezer, but given its condition I'm guessing it hasn't been his for a couple days now."

"Fuck."

"That's what I said. Good thing I was the one to find it instead of Stephanie. She's not good with this kind of stuff. Her apartment is getting the full crime scene treatment, so when she's out of the shower you can drop her off at my place. She can stay with me until it's been released."

"No. Stephanie is staying at Rangeman for the time being."

"Hell no. You can't just—"

"This isn't up for debate. She's safer in my building and we both know it."

"Yeah, safer from who?" Morelli said. "What the hell have you gotten her into?"

"I'm handling it."

"Oh, I know what you're trying to handle. You'd better keep your fucking hands to yourself, Manoso, or you're gonna need more than stitches, do you hear me?"

"I'll need to loop in my federal contacts on this," Ranger said, ignoring Joe's threat. "It's relevant to their investigations."

"Shit. Sure, why the fuck not? It's not like my day can get any worse. The woman I love is already having a sleepover with Don Juan. Might as well add Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dick into the mix."

If Ranger still had a conscience, he would have felt bad for Morelli. Morelli was a good guy. He might not always appreciate Steph's unique qualities the way Ranger did. And he didn't seem to understand her as well. But he genuinely loved her. Wanted what was best for her. And they both knew it wasn't Ranger. Too bad that ship had sailed. "One of my men was in her apartment this afternoon to gather some personal items. I have his prints on file, if you need to rule them out, but he wouldn't have had cause to touch her fridge."

"I'd appreciate that," Morelli said against his will. Trying tooth and nail to stay professional. "Tell Steph I'll call her later. And I mean it about the hands."

Ranger hung up. As if he'd be able to keep his hands to himself, even if he was willing to just for Morelli's sake. He'd been trying for years. Unsuccessfully. Besides. It would be a pointless gesture now anyway.

He went back into his bedroom and tossed the black silk boxers aside. Slipped into the bathroom. The room was bathed in steam. The scent of his expensive soap drifting on the air. He moved in behind Steph and wrapped his arms around her. Pulling her back flush against his chest. Her spine melted into him. He let his hand trace her arm until he could reach the loofah. Taking charge of her cleanliness with great attention to detail. He always told her he was good in the shower. She knew it from personal experience, too. Didn't mean she'd seen all the creative ways he could think of to make her putty in his skilled hands.

She was panting and moaning in anticipation by the time he took her against the shower wall. Wrapping her legs around his waist in the hot cascade of water. God. He could get used to this.

Steph was looking very relaxed and happy when he helped her dry off. The keening cries she'd made had been stronger than he'd ever heard. Might have been the pregnancy hormones. He wrapped the towel around her and pulled her against his bare chest. "Babe, I've got to tell you something. And you're not gonna like it."

She made the _oh boy_ face. Biting her lip. He realized too late how many things she might be worrying about already. The bad news could be anything. He held her closer.

"Seems someone left some evidence in your apartment. TPD is taking care of it."

"What kind of evidence?"

"The dead body kind of evidence. Normally I'd spare you the details, but considering the number of friends you have on the force, I'm betting you're going to hear it anyway." Her arms went a little stiff where they draped around his neck. She shored up her brave face and nodded. Trying to be ready. It made him proud. He leaned down enough to kiss her lips. "They've identified the fifth body from Stark Street. It was Skeezer Marquez. Taken out at the same time as the CI hiding in his crew. Could be a lieutenant saw the opportunity to seize power."

"What does that have to do with me? Why do people have to dump bodies in my apartment?"

Ranger tried not to smile at that. "Intimidation, most likely. Maybe they're trying to convince you to back off. Show you what'll happen to people who get in their way."

"Jeez."

"You don't need to worry, Babe. You're safe here. And I'll assign you a partner when you go after skips. Though I think it's safe to say we're both avoiding the bonds office for a while."

"Probably smart."

"Did you call Mini again?"

"I forgot."

"You have a lot on your plate."

She nodded. "How did they find Skeezer's body in my apartment?"

"It wasn't the whole body. Just part of it. From the way it sounded, Morelli came over to see you and found it in your fridge."

"But the fifth body…" she said, putting it together. "Eww. There was a head in my fridge?"

Ranger was losing the battle not to smile. "Guess you'll just have to share mine."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Steph

Oh God. A head. In my fridge. Where I keep my olives and my deli meat. The icky feeling was a fever chill all over my body. So much worse than any of the other times my apartment was broken into. If I hadn't just had to mother of all orgasms I might have freaked out. Good thing Ranger knew how to deliver bad news. Seeing him naked was definitely a pleasant distraction from the mental pictures I was getting.

He kissed the bunched up skin between my eyebrows, an almost smile on his face. Ranger thought I was amusing. "You okay, Babe?"

"No."

The smile grew just a little. "Would you like me to kiss it better?"

"You can't kiss it better. The hurting is in my brain."

Ranger grinned and pulled me tight against him, kissing me so thoroughly that I stopped breathing. It went straight to my head and down to my toes. The towel hit the floor. All his smooth skin and hard muscle rubbing against me as he held me to his body. By the time he pulled back an inch to smile at me, I'd forgotten my name. "Better?"

"What?"

Ranger laughed. "Why don't you go call Mini while I make some things happen regarding your apartment. Then we'll relax. Watch a little television. Wash all the bad away."

That might work.

I stopped by his closet and picked up one of his black t-shirts to wear. Went into the kitchen to get my phone. It was sitting on top of my messenger bag next to Rex's cage. I got a little flair of guilt. Morelli had called me. That was how Ranger knew about Skeezer. Which meant Morelli knew I was in Ranger's apartment. Maybe that I was staying the night.

I knew it was his idea to back off of commitment. Explore other options. But I still loved him. Figured we'd work things out when we both grew up a little. Now I was pregnant by someone else. And not just any someone. Ranger.

Joe was going to flip when he found out. Ranger might need to take a sabbatical.

I pushed the thoughts away and brought up the number Mooner had given me. I doubted Mini was still using the same phone, but if I was lucky she might be checking her messages. And let's be honest. The way my life was going, I was due for some luck.

"Mini, it's Stephanie Plum. Thatch said he talked to you about coming in. I don't know if you heard, but he was shot last night. He's in the ICU. They think he's gonna make it, but it was close. It's not safe for you out there. You need to come in so we can protect you. Call me. Please." I left my number and Ranger's, and then I hung up. Feeling just a little lost.

Normally, I don't do the whole self reflection thing. It's a little out of my depth. Hard not to wonder if I'd done a little more reflecting, if I wouldn't be standing in no-man's-land waiting for my life to explode.

Ranger's arms circled me from behind. His lips on my shoulder. "Done?" I nodded. "I added your phone to the Rangeman system after the incident with Baller Thatch. Our communications monitor will trace any incoming calls. Should be able to pinpoint her location as long as you keep her on the line long enough."

"You have equipment that can do that?"

I was amusing him again. "Babe."

"What? Sounds like CIA level stuff."

"It's actually pretty standard. Our system is a little more high tech, but it's not far off from what PD and FBI have been using for years. She'll likely have a burner, but we'll be able to triangulate her signal using cell towers. Almost as good as a GPS location."

"Jeez. Remind me to never try hiding from you."

I felt him laugh against my back. "I don't know. Could be fun playing hide and seek." Ranger kissed me just below my ear and got a couple bottles of water from the fridge. Then we went into his den where he kept his giant flat screen television. Sometimes I wondered if he ever used it when I wasn't around. Ranger wasn't really the sit and watch television type. He flicked it on and put an arm around me, scrolling through the channels. We settled on basketball.

"Carson's on his way to your apartment. He's going to oversee the crime scene."

"Bet Joe'll love that."

The corner of his mouth quirked up. "When PD is done, I'll send in some cleaners. Place will be good as new."

"No death cooties?"

"No death cooties."

"Wow. That's so nice of you."

"Yeah, I'm a nice guy."

"So, does this mean I should go back to my apartment when this is over?"

"That's up to you, Babe. It's certainly an option. Though, it's worth pointing out that not only would you be safer here, you'd be more satisfied."

"So this would be a full service tenancy?"

A touch of wolf colored his smile. Our eyes held. That was when my phone decided to ring.

I snatched it up off the coffee table hoping it would be Mini. Nope. It was my Grandma Mazur.

"Hear you lost another one," Grandma said when I answered. "That's a shame. That little silver one was a pip."

"It's gone to a better place."

"With the windows from the bonds office. We tried to call you right after it happened, but the phone's been ringing off the hook. When we finally got a chance, you didn't answer."

"I got a little scraped up when Ranger and I hit the ground. He made me see a doctor. But don't worry. Everything's great. I'm in perfect health." Perfect health plus one, actually. My mother would likely drink her disappointment away when she found out I was pregnant, but at least I could be certain Grandma would be thrilled. She didn't care what side of the blanket her great grandbabies came from. And she loved Ranger. Thought he was the complete package, aside from the no marriage and babies thing. And it turns out that wasn't as accurate as I thought after all.

"That Ranger sure is a smart one. Can't be too careful. This case you're working on must be a real humdinger. They're saying it was a bomb."

"They'd be right."

"Boy, isn't that something."

The call waiting beeped. I looked at the readout. Not a number I recognized. Oh boy. "Listen, Grandma, I gotta go."

"But this was just gettin' good."

"Sorry. Case stuff. Love you, bye." I switched lines, praying I hadn't missed it. Ranger was already on the move. Standing over his computer with his eyes on me. "Hello?"

The silence on the open line was heart stopping. The kind that squeezed the air out of your lungs. I could sense someone breathing. Heard her draw in a cautious breath. "Stephanie Plum?"

Mini. I was sure of it. "Yes."

"Is Thatch okay?"

She was trying to hide the fear in her voice. If I hadn't been in the silent, calm space of Ranger's apartment, I might have missed it. I hesitated. Thatch wasn't just her employer. He was her friend. "He was shot in the chest and there was a lot of blood, but Ranger's guys got him to the hospital in time. He's still unconscious, though. The last thing he said to me was that he was going to try and talk you into coming in. He knew it wasn't safe out there."

"It's not safe with you, either. You're a bounty hunter. You're supposed to take me to jail."

"But I wouldn't. Not until it was safe."

"It's not safe. Might never be safe again. Thatch was shot while he was talking to you. If they'd shoot Baller Thatch, they won't hesitate to kill me too."

"But we could protect you. You've heard of Rangeman, right?"

"Everyone in Trenton has heard of Rangeman. Thatch told me that you and Ranger were special friends. He also said that Ranger's a hardass SOB."

"He can be. But he's also all about protecting people. And he's very good at it."

Mini digested that for a second. "His people saved Thatch's life?"

"Yes. You can trust them."

"I can't trust anyone right now. I've got a target on my back, but it's not half as big as the one on his. They're coming for him. It's started already."

"What has?"

I could hear her arguing with herself inside her head. Trying to decide what she should say. "Thatch said you were a good person. Sweet, you know? He said I could trust you. That's the only reason I called to warn you."

"Warn me about what?"

"Ranger. The target on his back is so big that if you keep standing next to him you'll be collateral damage for sure. This is all about him. All this blood. All these deaths. He's building an army to use against Ranger."

"Who is?" I asked, but only dead air answered me. Mini was gone.

ooo

Ranger

He was focused so hard on tracing the line that he didn't see it when Steph's arms went limp. Not until the phone slipped from her fingers and onto the rug. She was white. "Babe?"

"He's going to kill you."

"Who?"

"I don't know. She didn't say a name, but she said he's building an army to get to you. That's what this is about. It's not just a power play. It's a play against you."

"Then it's not a smart play. Sourcing street gangs isn't going to get him the reliable, well disciplined forces he wants. Seems he's got Skeezer's people, but that's only going to get him so far. Knocking Skeezer off might get him favor with the other kingpins. Especially if it was done in a unilateral move to cleanse the gangs of naysayers. He took out Skeezer and his CI. And then a CI from Delgado's crew, a foot soldier with friendly ties to my men, and an enforcer that might have been overly ambitious. But even if he got every banger in Trenton to back him, I'm still the boogeyman. They're not going up against me willingly."

"But—he has an army!"

"So do I, Babe," he said. Holding her gaze. He watched her a moment, waiting for her to calm. She nodded and he gave her a _proud of you Babe_ smile. Turned back to his computer. It didn't take long to get a fixed location. Almost down to the ten foot radius. It was an apartment building in north Trenton. Might take a little footwork to get the right floor, but it was a very good start. "I'll assemble a small team. Are you up for it? Because you might be an asset if we want to avoid a traumatic snatch and grab."

"Uh—yeah. Sure."

"Good. Get dressed while I make it happen."

She nodded and went back to his closet. Ranger hit the intercom. "Assemble me a team of six. Steph and I are going after Mini Velasquez," he said to Tank. Tank acknowledged and cut out. He'd be one of the six. No doubt. Tank took watching Ranger's back as seriously as he took watching Steph's. He'd also choose men well suited for an op like this. They'd take the building before Mini even knew she'd been made.

Steph came back in a pair of jeans and a roomy gray T-shirt advertising Kit Kats. Her messy curls pulled back into a ponytail. Incredible to believe this woman was having his baby.

"Ready?" she asked.

Ranger picked up his phone and slid an arm around her neck. "I'm always ready," he said, kissing just above her ear. He could hear the internal groan when they reached the sideboard in the hall and she saw the gun belt she'd left in her apartment this morning. He'd added a holster for her S&W to go with the baby Glock. "Be a good girl and wear your gun."

"Ugh. Fine."

He laughed at her.

Six of his men were waiting in loose formation when they reached the parking garage, Tank among them. All of them trained military. Former Special Ops. Men who were well versed in clearing a building full of civilians. They fell in line when they saw him. Standing at attention with every mark of professionalism but the salute. Commander on deck.

He divided them into pairs with little more than a few flicks of his eyes and they broke off. Filing into three fleet cars. Ranger guided Steph to the Cayenne and opened her door for her. Watched her ass as she climbed into the passenger seat. That ass was all his now. Regardless of the outcome tonight, he'd be taking that ass home with him. Stripping the jeans off it so he could kiss every inch with slow, leisurely pleasure. Because he had all the time in the world.

He fought a grin and shut the door.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Steph

It was hard not to be nervous on the drive up to north Trenton. Ranger had gone over the plan at least a half dozen times for me. Not only patient, but amused. Ranger thought I was cute. Like a Pomeranian or a sweet little kitty that liked to chase its tail. After the seventh time, he just grinned and told me to follow his lead.

Night air whispered around the squad of armed men gathered at the front entrance of the building. Ranger gestured around the side. Sending a team to cover the exits and the fire escape. The rest of us pushed through the door to the lobby. Tank and Hal guarded the front door and the stairwell. Ready to catch anyone who tried to run. Nollen and Junior had our backs.

Now came the hard part. We knew the general area Mini had been standing when she called me, but we didn't know what floor. Which meant we'd have to knock on doors until we found her. As soon as his men were in place, blocking all chance of escape, and Nollen and Junior were standing just out of sight on either side of the door, Ranger rapped on the first apartment. And then he caught my elbow and pulled me in front of him. I felt like a human shield. That is until we heard the chain scraping. Right. Someone looks through the peep hole and sees me, they open right up. They see Ranger, they might pretend nobody's home.

An old man opened the door, blinking at me. "What do you want?"

"I'm sorry. I know it's kinda late, but I'm looking for this girl," I said, showing him Mini's photo. "Have you seen her?"

He examined the picture. Then me. Then his eyes moved over my shoulder onto Ranger. Ranger was intimidating on his best day. Wet your pants scary on his worst. Hard to blame the guy for his hesitance. "Haven't seen her."

"Are you sure? Because it's really important that I find her."

"I don't know nothin'." He moved to shut the door and I put my foot in it to stop him. He turned a sour eye on me.

"Sorry. It's just that I really need to find her and I think you know where she is. There are some bad people after her."

"How do I know you're not bad people?" he grunted. Looking at Ranger again.

"Do I look like bad people?" I asked.

"Maybe not, but what about Rambo back there?"

Crap. No one tells secrets to Rambo without bamboo shoots under their nails. "My boyfriend is just worried," I said, hoping to soften his image. "She's his baby sister. She ran away from home. Fell in with the wrong people. She called him from the deli across the street and told him she was in trouble, but she wouldn't tell him where she was. Didn't realize it would show up on his caller ID. Please. She's only fifteen and their mom is worried sick. Do you know where she is?"

The old man was appraising me, his eyes moving to Ranger over my shoulder like he was trying to see the family resemblance. Ranger's warm hand touched the back of my neck. A loving thing any boyfriend would do. The fact I didn't flinch or look nervous went a long way with the old guy. "I mighta seen her," he said, scratching his stubbled jaw. "Fifteen you say? Little bitty thing?"

"Yes! Do you know where we can find her?"

He rubbed his jaw again. "She's a sweet girl. Didn't realize she was so young. You'll keep her safe?"

"That's all we want."

After a moment, the old man nodded. "She's been staying in 4C. Should be there now."

"Thank you," I told him. "Thank you so much."

He nodded and closed the door. Ranger slung an arm around my neck and led me toward the elevator. "Way to go for the gold, Babe. That was Oscar worthy."

I shrugged. "I might be a crappy bounty hunter, but I'm a pretty good liar."

I felt him chuckle against my arm. "Babe, you're a good bounty hunter too."

"Not as good as you."

"Nobody's as good as me." He leaned down to kiss my ear. "Boyfriend, huh?"

"You were making him nervous! Boyfriends are less scary than bounty hunters." I glanced at Nollen and Junior when the elevator doors opened. They were taking the stairs to cover all routes. We stepped in and the doors closed, leaving us alone. Ranger closed his arms around my waist and held me against his chest.

"Are boyfriends really less scary than bounty hunters?"

"Big time."

He kissed my ear. "Is this a situational thing or an official label?"

I got a rush from my belly all the way to my toes, and it had almost nothing to do with the heat in his voice and the way he held me. Oh boy. "You want to talk about this now?"

"We don't have to talk about it at all. Ball's in your court, Babe."

No pressure, right? Jeez.

The elevator doors opened. Nollen was standing next to 4C. Junior guarding the stairwell. Boy. Rangeman didn't do anything half assed. A crazed seven foot psycho killer could be in there and he wouldn't get more than four steps before someone took him down. Mini didn't stand a chance, no matter how wily she was.

I walked up to the door, ready to knock, but Ranger reached into one of his cargo pockets and pulled out the little pouch he kept his tools in. Five seconds later, the door was unlocked. He inched it open and listened. Nothing. And then we heard footfalls racing away from us.

I shoved the door open and saw a five foot tall blonde vanish into the bedroom. I darted after her. She hit the bedroom window with a decent lead. Threw the window open and dove out onto the fire escape. I was right after her. My foot caught the windowsill and pitched me over onto the harsh iron grating, but I was able to get a fistful of her sweatshirt. She looked right at me and then dropped down the ladder, dragging me with her. I lost my balance and almost went over headfirst until a hand seized the back of my jeans. Ranger hauled me up and lifted me to my feet like I didn't weight a thing.

"You alright?"

"Yes, but Mini…"

"Vince has her." He set me on my feet and looked me over. "You're knee is bleeding."

Damn. He was right. "I sort of tripped."

"I saw. Let's get you back to Rangeman. Clean you up. Then we can ask our little hell raiser a few questions."

That sounded good to me. I was tired and strangely hungry and a little nauseated all at the same time.

Welcome to being pregnant.

ooo

Ranger

Ranger could hear his men coordinating through the open line in his ear. Vince had Mini in custody under the fire escape. Woody circling to his location to back him up in case a third party decided to intercede. Tank was en route to oversee while Hal guarded the lobby and waited for the rest of the team to come down from 4. All in all, the op had gone as smoothly as he had expected.

Aside from Steph's little mishap.

He never liked it when Steph was bleeding, but knowing what might have happened stuck with him even more now that he knew she was pregnant. She'd taken a huge risk, going after Mini like that. He knew she was more than capable of taking someone down. He'd seen it enough times. But he felt even more responsibility now that she was finally his, and he wouldn't have handled it well if she'd been hurt.

All he wanted now was to get her home. Assess the damage. Kiss it better for a few minutes before they had to get serious again. At least they had Mini in custody. Something he wasn't sure would have happened if he hadn't taken command of the op personally. His men were good. Very good. But few commanders were as thorough or methodical as Ranger. If Vince hadn't been standing under the fire escape, Mini would have gotten away.

They loaded Mini into the backseat of the Cayenne and attached her ankle chains to the floor bolt. Then he drove them back to Rangeman.

Ranger didn't relax until they were safe in his building. Mini in a holding cell in the second basement. Good. Give her a little time to settle, let her heart rate dip below _holy fuck_ , and she might be ready to give them some answers. He turned to Steph. "Come on, Babe. Let's get you taken care of."

"I'm okay."

"Babe, you're still bleeding."

She glanced down at her knee like that was a surprise to her. She'd actually forgotten the fall. Ranger suppressed the urge to shake his head. Took her by the hand instead and tugged her toward the elevator. "Medical attention isn't optional. But if you're a very good girl, you might get a treat."

"Like a lollypop?" she asked with an innocent smile.

He didn't quite roll his eyes, but he knew there was a fair amount of affection shining in them. He tugged her into the elevator and pressed her up against the wall. Pinning her there with his body. "I think we can do better for you than a lollypop," he said into her mouth, "but if you really want something to lick…"

A smirk cracked the innocent expression. She wanted him bad.

Ranger brought her back up to 7 and stripped off her jeans. Cleaned up the lacerations as carefully as he could. It only had part of his attention, though. The rest was on the way she was seated at the edge of his bed, the glimpse of black lace showing under the edge of her t-shirt. Her slender legs were long and white. Only holding a hint of tan from their time together in Hawaii. Ranger smiled. Kissing the bandage he'd applied to her knee. Then he nipped her thigh, watching her eyes warm. He kissed higher and caught her legs, dragging her to the very edge of the bed. Intent on proving he was thorough and methodical in more ways than one.

She was a quivering lump by the time he was done. A very happy grin on her face. He picked up her pants from the floor. "Ready to interrogate our little drug runner?"

"Just five more minutes," she said, waving a limp arm at him. "Or hours."

He chuckled. "Come on, pregnant lady. Still got a job to do."

"Yeah, and now I'm relaxed and sleepy."

"You got a nap earlier. Should be good for a while."

"It's hard work growing a person!"

He laughed again. "Play the pregnancy card all you want, Babe. It's only gonna get you so far," he said, catching her hand so he could lift her off the bed. She was going to get annoyed, but he pulled her flush against him, stealing her focus. Brushed a gentle kiss to her lips. "We'll get answers about who wants me dead, and then I'll bring you back up and make love to you until you're purring. How does that sound?"

"Better."

"Good." He gave her bare ass a pat. "Now put your pants back on. Time to find out what Mini knows."

She complied without further argument, much to his surprise. Wasn't sure if it was the promise of marathon sex or the reminder of what was at stake. He was hoping it was the former. He always liked it when Steph cared enough about him to worry, but he didn't want her freaking out. Especially over something he had complete control over now that she was in his building. Rangeman was state of the art. Reinforced bullet proof glass in the lobby that could take an armored truck and not shatter. Bullet resistant windows above. Armed guards patrolling the perimeter with fully armed and highly trained staff on every floor. Not to mention the reinforced secure entrances and shut down protocols.

If someone was stupid enough to try and take Rangeman, they wouldn't get very far.

He liked her here so much better than her Grand Central Station for Bad Guys apartment.

He kept his hand curled around hers on the elevator ride down. Aware that she was tickled by the casual statement. He wondered for a second if there were any pools paying out in the control room. Bets on when the boss would become official with his girlfriend, or show affection in full view. But then, it wasn't really anything new. Being official would change very little about the way his men saw her. She's always been the boss' girlfriend. Now he just got to admit it to himself.

A smirk tried to surface when they stepped out. Tank was standing next to the holding cell door.

"She say anything yet?" he asked his friend.

"Not much. Mostly she's been threatening charges for kidnapping and false imprisonment."

"Did you explain that as her bond enforcement agent Stephanie has the legal right to apprehend and transport her?"

"I did. She started citing legal precedents."

Ranger had to fight harder to hold in his smile. "You're up, Babe."

She gaped at him. "Who, me? I don't know anything about interrogation."

"You don't have to know anything, Babe. People talk to you. That's all you have to do. Just talk."

She nodded. Still unsure. "Just talk. I can do that. What do we talk about?"

"Start with who wants me dead and go from there."

"Right." She flinched a little when Tank wrenched the door open. Hesitated. And then went in with her head held high. Like she did this for a living. Absolutely incredible.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Steph

"What. The. Fuck," Mini said, glaring at me from the metal chair she was cuffed to in the middle of the concrete room. Jeez. Way to start out on the right foot. Her bleach blonde hair was hanging around her face. A little mussed from being tackled and wrangled into the Cayenne by three massive, armed men. Not happy.

"Sorry about that," I said. Mostly because it seemed like the kind of thing you're supposed to say in a situation like this. "But on the plus side, you're safe here."

"Bullshit. I'm not safe anywhere. Especially not when you take me to jail and I get stabbed by one of his idiot underlings."

"Who's underlings?"

Mini set her jaw and looked away, staring at the wall rather than look at me.

"I'm not taking you to jail. Not until it's safe. I promise."

"Promises don't mean jack shit."

"This time they do."

Still not looking at me. I felt kind of awkward standing there. Didn't know if I should try to be stern, or do something with my hands. Cripes! Why didn't Ranger ever teach me Interrogation 101? Some mentor he turned out to be. No B and E skills or intimidation lessons. Just impregnation.

Jeez. I freaked myself out again.

"Look," I said, glancing around the room until I found a chair. Brought it over so I could sit across from her. "We're in the Rangeman building. Bad guys can't get in the Rangeman building. It's like if Fort Knox and the Pentagon had a baby."

Mini swung her eyes to me. Her expression saying _what the fuck_ in a different way this time.

At least she was looking at me.

Might have heard laughing in the hallway.

"My point is, no one's going to hurt you here. Or let anyone else hurt you."

"Tell that to the behemoth who tackled me."

"In his defense, you were trying to run away. And don't think I didn't see the bruise on his face from where you punched him."

This time the corner of her mouth twitched. "Kicked."

"See there you go." She smiled. "I really like the blonde, by the way. It's kind of exotic."

She shrugged. "When you go on the run you have to change it up. Makes you harder to spot."

"Smart. I'll remember that."

Another shrug.

"Who's after Ranger?"

"Who isn't after Ranger?"

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah. And you knew what I meant about staying clear of him. He's got half the gangs in Trenton gunning for him. I know he's badass and all. And I get that he's super hot, but you need to rethink your priorities if standing next to that man is more important to you than not getting killed."

"If we knew who was doing this he could stop it."

"There's no stopping it. Not until one of them is dead. If you don't move away, you'll be collateral damage. There's already an order to snatch you. Ranger is a stone cold bastard. Is he really worth the risk?"

"Yes."

She glared at me for a full minute. Wheels turning. Like she was stripping away my bravado and climbing inside my head. Made me feel a little naked. "You and him aren't just special friends, are you?"

What was I supposed to say to that? No, I'm having his baby? Jeez! "That's not—"

"You're in love with him," she said.

"Not so loud!" Oh good. Now she was smiling again. Glad we could get that out there. I let the nerves shiver down my spine, praying they hadn't heard that in the hall like they did the Fort Knox Pentagon thing. "Ranger is important to me. Like, really important. But you also shouldn't underestimate him. He's a survivor. And he's got resources and training street gangs don't have. He'll walk out of this, there's no doubt about that. But it might minimize casualties if you tell us what you know."

She just kept studying me for another minute. And then she let out a breath. "I'm shocked you don't know already."

"Guess I'm not as smart as you."

"No, you're plenty smart. I can tell. Might let your heart make stupid decisions for you sometimes, but you're not stupid." Ha! My heart isn't the only part of my anatomy that makes stupid decisions. "I can't help you any more than a name, though," Mini said. "I know a dude called Juan Alvarez was pulling strings, but I don't know where he is or who's protecting him. Last I heard, some of the bad things were being done by Skeezer's people. He might know."

"Skeezer's dead."

"Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure. They kind of found his head in my fridge." Ugh, shudder. Still gave me the heebie-jeebies. "Why would Alvarez be stirring up street gangs to go after Ranger?"

She gave me a _maybe you're not that smart after all_ kind of look. "Ranger's like a heat seeking missile. Or a bloodhound. Everybody knows that. You cross him, he's on your ass until you're brought to justice or dead. Only people who escape him are the ones who get a big head start and disappear forever. And even then, it's just a matter of time. Look what happened to The Rug."

"That was me, actually. And there was a lot of luck involved."

"But you're his protégée, right? His partner? His woman? As far as the streets are concerned, that makes it his doing."

"The streets aren't real big on feminism, are they?"

That earned me a snort and a big grin. Guess we were making progress after all.

"Look. I'm sorry that we had to come at you like that, and I promise I really don't plan on taking you to jail. I was just worried that if we didn't find you first, it was going to be your body parts in a fridge next."

Mini shook her head. "They don't want me half as much as they want you. You're Ranger's weak spot. The missing scale in his impenetrable armor. They get you, they get him. End of story." She leaned forward. Holding my eyes. "Be careful. I mean it. This world is mean and nasty, and it's only gonna get worse. I just met Alvarez the one time, but I can tell you he doesn't have a lot of lines he won't cross. Nothing's too far for him. Nothing's sacred. And he's desperate. Someone like that will do terrible things when their backed into a corner. And that's exactly what Ranger's done. Backed him into a teeny, tiny corner." The smile she gave me was sad. "Thatch was right. You're a good person. Please, don't let this world destroy you out of some misguided attachment to a man who could never love you back."

ooo

Ranger

Ranger stood watching the exchange through the narrow window. Tank at his side. He saw his big friend shift on his feet when Mini said it. That Ranger could never love her. He felt Tank's eyes. Might have been concern over how Ranger would react. Whatever his expression held, there was no way in hell Tank would think it was true. It wasn't something they ever discussed. But then, part of that was because they knew each other so well words weren't always necessary. Tank knew what Stephanie meant to Ranger. Without word one. Because he'd seen who Ranger was before her. Recognized that some of his sharp edges had been worn away. Saw the depth of Ranger's feelings every time she was in danger and he was afraid he'd lose her.

Tank knew all too well that Ranger never loving Stephanie was bullshit.

The apparent implication that Steph might love him back, though, was very interesting.

Ranger's phone buzzed in his pocket.

Morelli.

"Find something?" he said in way of greeting.

"Not quite. But I just got a call I thought you'd wanna hear about. Seems there was an incident down on Comstock a half hour ago. Slayer territory, or what was left of it at least. Sounded pretty bloody. High body count."

"You know how it happened?"

"Not in detail. I'm heading over there as soon as CSI is done with Steph's kitchen. Carson's on his way already. Figured you'd wanna head over too."

Instead of spending some quality alone time with Morelli's girlfriend.

Ranger knew it wasn't the only reason Morelli had called, but it was hard to miss that he'd jumped on the opportunity to distract the competition. As if keeping Ranger out of his apartment when Steph was in residence was going to change a damn thing.

Of course, Morelli didn't know that. Yet.

"We'll meet you there," Ranger said. "We're talking to an asset right now. Looks like we might finally have a suspect."

"You feel like telling me who?"

"Remember that FBI witness who murdered an agent to escape custody?"

"Shit."

"Yeah."

"How reliable is this asset? What's the guy's motive?"

"Escape. Thinks if he gets enough muscle he can challenge the powers that be and take out what he sees as insurmountable opposition."

"Which would be?"

"Me."

Morelli was quiet for a second. Weighing that carefully. "I feel like I'm missing a step."

"The short version is that I've hunted him before as Bond Enforcement. He knows I have skills and resources to catch him again, no matter how far he runs. He thinks if he takes on Rangeman, he'll end me and get away this time."

"It's a solid plan. Can't imagine what might go wrong."

"Sarcasm?"

"It's been a long day."

"I hear that."

"Level with me. How much danger is Stephanie really in?"

"As long as she doesn't go crazy and ditch her protective detail? None. Alvarez doesn't want her dead. He wants her as a bargaining chip to get to me. And I'm using every resource I have to keep that from happening."

Another pause. Struggling with the weird kindred bond they shared as the two men in love with Stephanie Plum. Morelli didn't like it, but he had no choice but to respect Ranger for his dedication. Just like Ranger respected Morelli's.

Ranger disconnected when the door opened again and let Steph into the hallway. She looked rattled. Like Mini had gotten to her. Damn. The girl hadn't even been playing head games. Imagine the damage she could have done if she had.

Ranger watched Stephanie stare at his chest. "She says it's Alvarez. Trying to get enough traction to take you out so you can't hunt him down again."

"Good work, Babe."

She didn't respond.

Ranger caught her fingers. Holding on until she dragged her eyes back up to his. Doubt.

"We're taking a fieldtrip to Slayer country," he said to Tank without letting go of Stephanie's gaze. "Secure the area and arrange for backup. I'll be up in five."

Tank nodded and went for the elevator. Leaving Ranger space to talk to his girlfriend.

God, it felt good to acknowledge that.

Ranger felt the corners of his mouth lift with the warmth in his chest. "Steph, you shouldn't let outsiders get to you. I have a well deserved reputation as a hardass, but that doesn't mean I don't love you."

She bit her lip. Unable to reconcile that with who he was. He let the amusement win and leaned down enough to kiss her bottom lip before she worried a hole in it. "We'll talk about this later. In detail, if you want. Right now we have to see a crime scene on Comstock."

"Does _we_ include me?"

"If I can swing it. I won't push. I know how you feel about dead bodies. But I also know that you're intuitive, observant, and incredibly brave when you're determined. You handled the crime scene photos from Stark like a professional. I could really use your insight on this."

"Are you just buttering me up so I don't overthink this in your apartment all alone?"

"It's not the only reason, but it is on the list."

This time the pout was more amused. A silent laugh rocked his chest. He kissed her lips and put a deliberate hand on her still flat belly. Holding those bright, open eyes of hers with his dark gaze. "I love you, Stephanie. Don't doubt that."

She nodded concession. A little dazed. As thrown by the admission as she was by the pregnancy. He'd been so careful over the years to keep his feelings hidden. Not just from the world, but from himself. He'd told her he loved her before. Hadn't qualified it in two years. But he'd also been insistent that she shouldn't trust her hopes or her heart to him. He was a lousy keeper.

He'd have to work on that.

"You need anything to be ready?" he asked, narrowing her wiggle room to refuse. She could still opt out if she really wanted. Didn't mean it was smart to offer her the out and make it easy. She thought a second before she sighed. Shook her head. Cute. "Then let's head out. Learn what we can. And then I'll bring you home and make you feel much, much better."

He brushed a light kiss across her lips and felt a little of the starch fall out of her. Good girl.


	7. Chapter 7

Steph

Didn't take long to get the presidential motorcade over to Comstock. I honestly don't know why I was surprised to find two cars were following us to the scene, where two more teams were already waiting with Trenton PD and the FBI. It might even be considered the new normal now that I'm a confirmed Batspawn-carrying member of the Rangeman family. Ranger wasn't taking any chances with me. And Tank wasn't taking any chances with either of us. Which meant it felt a whole lot like I was being covered by Secret Service. All they were missing were the black suits and earbuds.

Carson looked anything but thrilled to see me. Lucky for him, he kept that to himself. Gestured us into the sea of uniforms moving around the scene. "What did you find?" Ranger asked him.

"So far they've counted ten dead. Another five have been taken to Central with various injuries. Everything from bullet wounds to bite marks." He lifted the yellow tape to let us pass under. "I've seen some messed up shit in my time, but I've never seen anything like this."

"Is it safe to assume there were drugs involved?"

"I'd say so. They're doing tox screens at the hospital, but some of these injuries are consistent with the damage done by the deadheads Pritchard was telling us about. My bet is at least four of these guys were high when the bloodbath went down. Took bullets and kept going. Some of the Slayers were caught in the crossfire. Some had their throats ripped out."

Oh god.

My knees went jelly about the time he said bloodbath. By throats ripped out, I was feeling decidedly queasy. Ranger noticed before I did. His hand closed around my elbow. Guided me to a wall near the front door. His other hand went to the back of my neck. A warm weight that pressed my head down toward my knees. "Deep breaths, Babe. You got this."

I sucked in some air and let it out in a long stream. Rinse and repeat until the world stops spinning. Carson snorted. Jerk. "I'll just wait out here. You go ahead."

Ranger was thinking about smiling. "I'll leave Nollen with you. Hal and Tank are on the perimeter. We'll do the first walkthrough and then I'll come back for you. Should be better by then."

I felt my head nod like a stupid traitor. I didn't want him coming back for me. I wanted to be wrapped up in his nice smooth sheets rethinking every choice I'd ever made to lead me to this point.

His hand squeezed the back of my neck like he'd heard my thoughts.

Ranger thought I was amusing.

The hand lifted and I felt his atmosphere leave mine. I sagged against the wall a minute, Nollen standing awkwardly at my side with his hand on his weapon like he thought someone would come running at me any second. I might have tried to tell him that wasn't necessary, but I was too busy staring at my knees waiting for the whirlpool sensation to stop.

"You alright, Cupcake?"

I tried to nod.

Big mistake.

I heard Morelli chuckle and contemplated giving him a one fingered Italian greeting. "I can't believe Manoso actually brought you to this massacre. He really knows how to show a girl a good time."

"I'm fine. I just needed a minute."

"You been inside yet?"

"Nope."

He grinned. "You're such a cupcake."

This time I really did flip him off.

Morelli laughed and lowered down until he could see my eyes. Nollen shifted. Overprotective. I could only imagine what this looked like to him. I don't know how much they told him about me and Morelli when he was hired, but I know he knew Ranger and I had at least one naked session together. Very recently. Knew enough to treat me like the boss' girlfriend. And now Morelli was kneeling in front of me, looking at me with love and affection. Putting a firm, familiar hand on my thigh. Oh boy.

His thumb was stroking the top of my leg. Doing funny things to my stomach. "So, you're living with Ranger now, huh?"

"It's…temporary," I managed to say.

"Does he know that?"

Hard to say what Ranger knows. Until that afternoon I would have said he knew it better than I did because he was ready to put an expiration date on whatever we were. Now I was questioning that, along with my sanity. It was surreal, staring at Morelli. The man I'd loved since I was six years old. And knowing that the love in his eyes could turn to betrayal any minute. Ranger's voice was still burning in my ears. _I love you, Stephanie. Don't doubt that._

God, I was the worst person in the world.

"You sure you're feeling alright? You're a little pale."

"More pale than usual?"

"Big time," Morelli said. No longer smiling. He cut his eyes to Nollen who was still watching us, hand on his sidearm. "If I try to take you home is he gonna shoot me?"

"No." I don't think. "But it's okay. I'm already feeling better."

"Cupcake, you're white. Ranger has no business bringing you to a crime scene this sick."

"I'm fine, really. It was just a moment and it's already passing."

"Steph."

"I'm fine! It's probably just exhaustion." Or morning sickness. Or guilt.

Morelli wasn't buying it. He cut his eyes to Nollen again. "Could you give us a minute?"

Nollen didn't blink. Morelli frowned at me like he thought I could dismiss the hovering wonder. I only shrugged. Being alone with Morelli right now was likely something best avoided anyway.

"Please?" Morelli tried. "I need to talk to my girlfriend."

Nollen stared at him. And then shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Moving a whole six inches. Helpful.

Morelli stood and wrapped a gentle hand around my elbow. Tugging me along the wall several feet until we were just out of earshot. "You're not being held against your will, are you? Blink twice if you need me to get help."

"Funny. Hostage jokes. Very original."

"Seriously, Steph. You sure you're alright? I mean, I've seen you lose it at crime scenes before, but I've never seen you this stressed out. Usually you have to actually see the desiccated or dismembered remains before we see your breakfast."

"It's been a rough few days."

"How rough?"

I found out I was pregnant with the second coming of badass. "You mean aside from the driveby and Thatch and the bomb that almost killed me?"

"Yeah. Aside from all that. Because frankly, Cupcake, that's pretty par for the course as far as your life is concerned. In fact, you frequently handle worse without sweating while I'm chewing my fingernails off and drinking antacid like it's Captain Morgan. Something else is going on with you."

Morelli was studying me with far too careful an eye. It was making the panic squirm in my stomach again. "It's nothing."

"Stephanie. I know you better than that," he said softly. God, the concern in his eyes was killing me! I didn't deserve his worry, or his fear, or his love. I didn't deserve anything from him. Like he'd read that right off my stupid face, he lifted a hand to my jaw. Cupping my cheek gently. "Whatever it is, you can tell me. Are you hurt? Sick?"

I shook my head and my stomach lurched. Oh boy. I might actually be sick.

Morelli saw it and a little funny crinkled the corners of his eyes. "You're not pregnant, are you?"

I just about fainted.

I knew he was joking. Trying to get my goat so I'd get mad or swear at him or burst out laughing. All I managed to do was get paler. The smile dropped off Morelli's face. "Wait. You can't actually be…"

I didn't answer. Guess I didn't need to.

Morelli was stunned. Complete and utter shock.

A glint of joy filled his eyes.

And then that light blew out, replaced by the cop face. Oh god.

He was silent a moment. His black eyes dropping to his shoes. I tried to say something, but he cut me off with a _give me a second_ finger. It was just as well. I had nothing anyway. He was stone still for a full minute. Hands on hips. "How far along?"

There it was. Matter of fact. And anything but cold. Translating to _Is it mine or his?_ Morelli and I hadn't talked about what happened between me and Ranger in Hawaii. He knew, though. And judging from the ridged set to his shoulders, he knew a lot more than that. My eyes stung. "Nearly six weeks."

He did the math in his head and the rest of his face shuttered. "Hawaii."

There wasn't any point in nodding.

"Sonovabitch," he breathed, staring even harder at his shoes. "I'll fucking kill him."

I felt the air pressure change. The hairs standing on end all along my body, like a lightning strike was eminent. It was a sensation I usually liked, but this time it made me panic. Ranger. Summoned when he sensed a change in the force. Morelli's eyes cut up for only an instant. Confirming my worst fears when his jaw clenched.

Oh god oh god oh god!

Ranger didn't enter my atmosphere. He was better at reading a room than that. If he touched me now, Morelli might actually kill him. He was already muttering in Italian. Always a bad sign. "You fucking bastard," he finally managed. "I'd kick your ass right now if it wouldn't get me fired."

Ranger was unmoved. Watching Morelli fail to control himself. Unrepentant.

Morelli snapped his eyes to Ranger with nothing but fury. He took a half step forward, his teeth clenched. "First you move in on me, and then you fucking knock up my girlfriend?"

"This isn't the time or the place."

"I'll show you the fucking time and place. You fucking _asshole_. What the hell is wrong with you? You couldn't get your own girlfriend so you had to fuck around with mine?"

"Don't blame me because you stepped back," Ranger said with deadly calm.

Morelli either didn't hear the warning or he was too far gone to care. He took another half step. Dangerously close to getting in Ranger's face. "Like that made a fucking difference to you. You've been stepping all over my toes almost from the beginning."

"Only when it became clear you didn't have any intention of following through."

"Following—we were almost engaged for fuck's sake!"

"Almost being the operative word."

"What, because you think it's easy? That girl is a force of nature. Stubborn and headstrong and terrified of commitment. You mention marriage or babies and she starts picking fights getting ready to bolt. Not that you'd know anything about that, since marriage and family isn't what you're interested in, is it? In fact, let me guess. You're gonna keep fucking her until she starts getting fat and then you're gonna cut her loose like you did the first one. Am I getting warm?"

Oh boy.

The energy around Ranger was crackling. The deadly calm getting even deadlier. "Face it, Morelli. She was yours and you stepped back over bread and peanut butter. Suggested seeing other people as long as one of those people wasn't me."

"You can see why."

"I can. Because you knew there was a good chance if she came to me you wouldn't get her back."

"Why, because you'd get her pregnant? I didn't know it was a race to plant a fucking flag."

"It wasn't. This pregnancy was anything but planned, but knowing that doesn't change the outcome."

"Is there a problem?" Carson's voice came from the open front doorway. I don't know about the posturing alpha males, but I nearly jumped out of my skin. Jeez. Never thought I'd ever be so relieved to see him. Carson took in the intensity between Ranger and Morelli and cut his eyes to me. "Spreading more sunshine?"

I wanted to say it wasn't my fault. But it totally was. I shrugged.

If I didn't know better, I might have said there was a tiny hint of amusement in Carson's eyes. "ME's ready to start packing up bodies. It's now or never."

Ranger didn't take his eyes from Morelli. Just shifted his weight to let me out of the corner. Wrapped his warm hand around mine so he could pull me through the gauntlet between them. He placed that hand on the small of my back in a possessive gesture after I was through.

I was too afraid to look back at Morelli. Didn't need to anyway. I saw the hurt and frustration all over his face under the rage before Ranger led me away. He'd always been the more fragile of the two. But that wasn't what had me fighting back the tears.

For a fraction of a second, Morelli had thought the baby was his.

And he'd been excited about it.

Oh god. I really was the worst person in the world.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Ranger

Fuck. So much for keeping it to themselves for a little while. Must have been too much to ask of karma to let them get through even a day without complications messing with Stephanie's head. This thing between them was too new. Fragile. Last thing he needed was for her to start feeling guilty about being with him. She might be growing his child, but there was no way in hell that would keep her from pulling away again.

If anything, the extra hormones might make it more likely.

At least Ranger knew Morelli wasn't one to spread rumors, even to satisfy his bruised ego. No matter how pissed he was at Ranger, he wouldn't hurt Steph like that. Morelli might be an ass sometimes, but he still loved her. And at least he had a conscience. One of the many reasons he had always been the better man.

Steph was too quiet. Only wandering through the house at his side because he was guiding her. Her eyes were glistening. Close to tears.

That got to him.

Morelli could rage and storm all day long, broken to the core by the circumstances Ranger had played a part in, and there wasn't an ounce of regret. But Steph's bottom lip starts trembling and suddenly his tender feelings don't seem quite as dead as he thought. He stroked her back. Hoping to keep the full blown tears at bay until they were in private again. She'd hate looking weak.

Most of the bodies had been covered or zipped up in body bags. Saving Steph the full effect. It really had been a bloody show. Not the worst he'd ever seen, but bad enough Steph wouldn't have liked it. There was still a lot of red on the floor. On the couches. Walls. Ceiling. Broken furniture scattered across the room.

They followed Carson into the center of the living room where most of the dead bodies were.

"The theory is these four were already here when the rest of them arrived," Carson said. "Probably in the static state Pritchard mentioned in his report. Must have thought because the place was empty it was a good spot to get high. They pass out, and then when the Slayers come home, all hell breaks loose."

Steph's posture changed like she'd caught a scent again. Something wasn't adding up for her. Made him proud. She didn't say anything, though. Hard to say if it was because of Carson or Morelli.

"What is it, Babe?"

"Maybe nothing," she said, looking over the broken furniture. "You said there were survivors?"

"Five," Carson said. "Though the word survivor is optimistic at this point. Agent Pritchard is following up at Central. Said they were all in pretty bad shape."

"Any of them say what happened?"

"Most of them weren't in talking condition."

"But the bodies are all concentrated. Almost in a circle. When I came across Avery Jessup, he was laying still too. Buried under a pile of leaves. But the second I said something, he got up and came running at us."

"That's consistent with our reports. What's your point?"

"My point is if they were just lying around, they would have attacked when the first guys walked in, giving the rest a chance to run. To have this many bodies, they would have had to be crowded in. Probably in a ring around something, given the crossfire." She was examining the broken furniture again. Saw something they didn't. "These pieces. Do we know what this used to be?"

"Coffee table?" Carson said.

"Nobody makes coffee tables out of plywood." Might as well have added _Duh!_ to the end of that considering the look she gave him.

Carson directed the ME to take the bodies away. Clearing the floor.

Steph was right. There was way too much wood to be a coffee table. She looked it over. Seeing what Ranger had seen the moment the bodies were gone. "It's a crate," she finally said. "It's been torn to pieces and shot to hell, but I'm pretty sure. Look, there's the lid! If they were inside, no one would know it until they opened it up."

"You think the deadheads came in a crate? What the fuck kind of logic is that?"

"Actually, it would be a pretty ingenious trap," Ranger said. "Given the static state, they wouldn't be likely to react without stimuli. Pritchard said the drug takes 24 hours to burn off. Theoretically, they could have been crated up any time in the last 24 hour and dropped off like a housewarming gift."

"That's fucked up," Carson said.

Ranger couldn't agree more. "The question is why. The Slayers were minor players after the playground incident. Just a handful of punks. No real threat to anyone's power. Not worth recruiting."

"You think this was a demonstration? Like taking out a mob triggerman?" Steph asked.

"Could be. But that doesn't ring right either. What's the gain? Alvarez never does anything without a reason."

"Alvarez?" Carson said.

Ranger spared him a glance. "It's what our latest intel suggests. We're working to confirm it from a secondary source, but all the evidence is pointing that way. Seems he thinks stirring up the Trenton underworld will give him enough leverage to turn my enemies into allies against me."

"Against you?"

"Yes. Apparently he doesn't like it when I hunt him down, and this time I tracked him across twelve states and into Mexico before I put his ass on the ground and dragged him back, after he had a two day head start. Must have made an impression. He's convinced taking me out is his only chance for escape."

Steph was quiet. So deep in thought he might have seen smoke coming out of her cute little ears. God, she was beautiful. There was nothing sexier than watching Steph on a hunt. Single minded focus and a dogged sense of perseverance and tenacity. All wrapped up in her brilliant insight. She really was his favorite partner.

"What if it was a test run?" she said quietly. Almost to herself.

"Babe?"

"Think about it. You're right. The Slayers weren't a threat. Weren't worth recruiting. Didn't have any ties or affiliations. They were completely expendable. What if this was a test to see what the damage would be?"

"You think he's weaponizing the deadheads?" Carson said.

Ranger saw it when that didn't sit well with Steph. She wilted again. Put off by the perverse nature of her own theory. The kind of person who would do that would have to have absolutely no respect for human life. Would have to put his own chances of survival above that of fifteen strangers.

Sounded a lot like Alvarez.

ooo

Ranger saw it when Steph crossed over from tired to exhausted. Hadn't taken long. Witnessing something that far outside of her comfort zone had been draining. Add the pervasive fatigue that was characteristic of a first trimester pregnancy and it was actually impressive she was able to keep going as long as she had. It was nearly two in the morning when they called it a night. Touching bases with Carson and Pritchard one last time before he took Steph out of the house to drive her home.

Tank was waiting for them at the Cayenne. Didn't say a word until Steph was belted in and closed up in the passenger seat. He cut a glance at her, keeping his deep bass voice low. "Do I need to know what went down with Morelli?"

"Not at the moment. He's not a problem. In fact, if anything his anger was justified."

Tank nodded his acceptance without further explanation. There was only one reason Ranger and Morelli ever butted heads, and she was sitting behind bulletproof glass only two feet away.

It had always been an odd dynamic between them. Morelli respected that Ranger and Stephanie had a professional relationship. He even seemed to respect their friendship most of the time. It was easy to see the strain when circumstances brought Steph and Ranger closer and Morelli felt his ground get shaky, but he'd never done more than issue warnings and vague threats. Not until the fistfight in Hawaii.

There was a lot of residual anger left over, but it had seemed they'd worked past it. Found a tentative truce again in their mutual efforts to protect Stephanie.

And now Morelli knew that his ties to her were gone.

He was right to be pissed.

Ranger delegated the rest of the scene to Tank and angled into the Cayenne. One car on his tail for backup. Steph's head fell back on the headrest before they'd crossed Stark. Out cold by the time they reached Rangeman. Ranger parked in his space near the elevator and rounded to her side. Scooped her up into his arms to carry her upstairs. She draped around his shoulders. Her face nestling into the crook of his neck. He fought a grin as he hit seven.

He carried Steph into his room and laid her out on her side of the bed. Removed her shoes and socks. Jeans. He went to his closet and got one of his shirts for her. Figured she wouldn't want to sleep in something that had been to a crime scene. He lifted her up to tug the kit kat shirt off over her head. Removed her bra while he was at it. Enjoyed the sight of her in nothing but panties for a second before he pulled his shirt on over her head and tucked his little baby mama into his nice soft bed.

Ranger shed his clothes and slid in next to her. She sought out his warmth. Scooting into him until she was laying on his bare chest, fitting her body to his. Her lips brushed his neck and he almost groaned, it felt so good. He closed around her like a shield, listening to her slow, even breaths in the darkness.

ooo

Steph

I woke up wrapped in Ranger's warm, hard body. My face pressed into his neck. It was nice. Comfortable in a scary sort of way. He really was beautiful. Even at rest. Perfect body. Perfect face. Like he'd been handcrafted to be god's gift to women. I ran a hand over the plains and valleys of his chiseled chest and I felt him laugh. Oops. Guess he was awake.

Ranger stroked the length of my body and then slid his hand under my shirt. His shirt. The rest of my clothes having vanished at some point last night. And of course, Ranger was deliciously naked. Every inch of his body tangled with mine. I was almost afraid to find out if I was still wearing my underwear. "Last night…did we…"

"Babe, you'd remember if we had. I would have made sure of that."

"Oh." That was true. Being with Ranger was pretty memorable. "What time is it?"

"Nearly ten."

"Aren't you usually at work by now?"

"Tank is handling the meetings that couldn't be rescheduled."

"Why?"

I was amusing him again. His nimble fingers caressing my bare skin under the shirt. "You really need to ask me that?"

"So you wanted to get laid."

That time he grinned. "Babe, you say that like sex is the only part of this that's important to me."

"It's pretty high on the list, isn't it?"

Our eyes held and my stomach got squishy. Like the lamb who knows when the wolf is watching. "Despite what Morelli said, that isn't all I'm interested in. This isn't just sex, Steph. We're not just fucking because it feels good. And I have no intention of kicking you out of my bed. No matter how fat you get." I punching him in the chest and his humor broke through again. He gathered me closer, his hand on my ass. "Babe, Morelli was upset. People have a tendency to lash out when they're upset. Say the most hurtful thing that comes to mind. Doesn't make it true."

I bit into my bottom lip. Staring at his chest. Not sure what to say to that.

Ranger lifted my chin until he could see my eyes. "Stephanie, if this is what you want from me, it's yours. Love. Affection. Security. I can't change who I am or what I'm capable of giving, but I can guarantee that much. I can take care of you in every way that matters. It's your call."

"What does that mean? Every way that matters?"

"It means I'd never push you away over peanut butter. Or anything else, for that matter. I'd take your happiness as seriously as I take your safety. For as long as you want me to."

"And what do you get out of it?"

"Aside from a girlfriend and a baby?" he said with a grin, groping my ass. "I'm sure we'll think of something." He kissed me with enough passion to melt my insides and make me tremble. My back touched the mattress when he moved over me. Searching under my clothes with both hands. My phone started ringing. Crap. I felt it when Ranger laughed. "Are we getting that or ignoring it?"

I tried not to notice the way my stomach flipped over when he said _we._ This was just too weird. "Better get it. Could be important."

Ranger was amused when he reached for the phone. Read the number. "It's your mom's house."

Oh great. That could mean anything. I answered. Very aware that Ranger hadn't stopped his attention. His hands were still searching under what little clothes I was wearing. Tracing soft lines up my ribs on his way to my breast. Teasing me.

It was Grandma.

"I heard there was a big to do at your apartment last night."

"Yes. Joe was handling it."

"They say somebody's head was in your refrigerator."

I suppressed a grimace. Momentarily distracted by Ranger's other hand moving down the back of my leg to my knee. He pressed his center against mine. Rock hard. Oh boy. "They'd be right."

"That must have been something to see. Was it all openmouthed like in the movies?"

"I don't know. I wasn't there. Actually Grandma, I've got to go, I'm in the middle of something."

"Oh, I won't keep you. I just called because I need a ride to the viewing tonight. They're having Tommy Thumbelli laid out at Stiva's. I sure would like to go, but Betsy's visiting her grandson in Vermont and Mabel's home with the gout. Do you think you could give me a ride?"

"Gee, I don't know."

"Your mother's making pot roast, and there's pineapple upside-down cake for dessert."

I almost moaned. And to my great shame it wasn't because Ranger was pulling down my underwear. I was about to get a Ranger-induced doomsday orgasm and all I could think about was that my mother was making my favorite desert tonight. I saw it when Ranger read that off my face, laughter lighting his eyes. "I'd have to check with Ranger, he's—"

"Great! I'll set two extra places. We'll see you and Ranger tonight at dinner."

"What? Wait, I—"

But Grandma was gone. Crap!

Ranger was watching me like I was the funniest thing he'd ever seen. "Babe, you just got played by an old lady."

"She's wily! I'd like to see you do better."

"Better is easy. One word. No."

"Does that work on your grandmother?"

"It works on everyone if you mean it."

I knew there was a catch.

Ranger laughed at me like he'd read my mind. Might as well have rolled his eyes. "When are they expecting us?"

"Six. Does that mean you're not going to leave me hanging?"

"Is that an option?"

"No."

Ranger grinned. "See, Babe. You can mean it."

"Are you still going to chain me naked to a street light if Tank finds out?"

His expression softened a little. "No. As appealing as it sounds to see you naked and chained, it's not really appropriate for the mother of my child to be exposed in public. In private, maybe." Eek! Ranger chuckled, kissing my lips thoughtfully. "Circumstances are what they are, Babe. Tank will know that when I tell him about the baby."

"You haven't told him yet?"

"I wasn't going to until you were ready, but now that Morelli knows it might be time."

That made sense. It really did. But the idea of Tank knowing for sure that Ranger and I had been fornicating enough to make a baby still freaked me out. I liked Tank. Tank was a good guy. And he had a soft heart, at least where me and his cats were concerned. I could only imagine what his reaction will be. "Fine. But if my mom finds out we're both dead."

"Understood."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Ranger

Ranger had taken his time with Stephanie. Kissing every part of her until the tension eased again and she wasn't just ready, but eager. By the time he was done with her, she was purring. A very contented lump of naked woman all curled up in his bed. He gave her a slow, lazy kiss and left her there to rest while he took a shower. When he came out again she was fast asleep.

It really was hard work growing a person.

He put on the casual Rangeman uniform he wore most days and took the stairs to his office. Found Tank waiting for him. His friend stood when he came in. Tipped his head in greeting. "I was able to reschedule the Matson Agency and Delroy Construction. They're on your schedule for Friday. And all the contracts are lined up for the new government building, pending final approval."

"How did it go at the scene last night?"

"Well enough. Fourteen confirmed dead. Pritchard said tox raised the drugging victims to six."

"Explains the carnage. They reconstruct the crate Stephanie found?"

Tank nodded. "It had six compartments. Each man crammed in his own space. Must have been afraid they'd damage each other before they could do their duty. Steph was right. No way this was an accident or an isolated incident. This was deliberate." Tank smiled. "Even Carson was impressed."

"She is very impressive."

Tank nodded his approval, a good deal of affection behind his eyes. "There's been an increase in sighting since the Slayers went down. Delgado's and Cruz's people have been straying from their territory more than usual. Could mean something's going down."

"That's likely, given the vibe on the street. Have all the sightings plugged into our mapping system. There should be a hotspot where the two forces intersect. If Alvarez is running things, he's doing it without being seen. Which means he's issuing orders from a seat of power somewhere. Should be able to follow the worker bees back to the hive."

"I'll see to it."

"Good. Then get some rest. No telling how the night will go. He's been escalating at a faster rate than I'd anticipated. If Steph's right about the Slayers being a test run, then the main event will likely go down tonight. We'll have the research desk run down possible targets. Anything from major events to exposed opposition. Hopefully that will give us an idea of where to marshal our forces."

"I'll see to it."

Ranger acknowledged that. "You heard from Morelli?"

"Not since last night. He took a big step back after you had words. Followed the bodies back to the MEs office. Whatever the issue was, it must have been big. Even when you two are at odds, Morelli's always a professional. Never seen him break like that."

"He had good reason," Ranger said, slouching into the chair behind his desk. Examining his second in command. The man who'd had his back since Ranger training. Still had his back. Right or wrong. Hell or high water. The only person he knew he could always count on.

Ranger felt a smile trying to surface. One of the two people.

"Steph's pregnant."

Tank could only stare at him for a minute. His eyes narrowing like that would make the words less odd. And then it sunk in. His expression eased. Then warmed. And then he broke out in a big grin. "You're gonna be a daddy again?"

Ranger's smile won.

The low rumble of Tank's laugh filled the office. "Well, shit. No wonder Morelli was pissed. I knew his days were numbered, but I didn't think it'd go down like that. How's she handling it?"

"Well enough, considering. Still early. Only confirmed it yesterday. Right now the goal is to keep her relaxed and happy."

"Minimize flight risk?"

"That too. I'm taking her home to her parent's house for dinner tonight, then we're escorting her grandmother to Thumbelli's viewing. I'll need you to run things in the control room incase Alvarez makes his move."

That got another grin from Tank. "Dinner with the folks? Big step."

"Make one crack about domestication and I'll break your jaw. Now get out of my office."

Tank laughed. Beamed at his best friend before he shook his head and went for the door.

"Tank."

The man paused. Turned to meet Ranger's eye. The unspoken bond passed between them. Tank smiled and nodded. And then left the office.

ooo

Steph

I didn't realize I'd passed out again until I looked at the clock on Ranger's bedside table. Noon. Jeez. What happened to almost ten? Between Ranger's dreamy bed and bedding dreamy Ranger, I was having trouble finding the will to drag myself awake. It was pretty much just the gnawing hunger in my belly that made me get up. I dropped one of Ranger's shirts over my head to go with the black silk boxers. Realizing only after I got into the kitchen and started to make coffee that all Ranger had was decaf. Dang. How did anyone go nine months without a cup of coffee?

I heard the light tapping on the door. Ella. Beaming at me when she came in. "I hope I'm not disturbing you."

"Nope. Just getting some breakfast."

"Would you like me to make you something?"

"That's okay. I think there's some leftover pizza in the fridge."

Ella accepted that. Even if she did look like she'd have enjoyed doing a little mothering. Ella went into Ranger's bedroom with the hamper of clean clothes she was carrying. Vanished into his closet. Made a little surprised noise that sounded very pleased. "Oh! You brought clothes with you. I suppose that means you're staying a while? Would you like me to put these away for you?"

I hurried into the closet after her. "That's okay, you don't have to."

"It's no trouble," she said, all sweet smiles. "I'm already putting away Ranger's things, and if you're staying a while—"

"I'm not. I don't think. I mean…" Jeez. How did this all get so confusing? "This is temporary," I said out loud. As much to myself as to Ella. "When things have calmed down, it'll all go back to normal."

Except it wouldn't. There was no normal anymore. Because no matter where I ended up, in a few months I'd have a baby. A soft, squishy little life, all fresh and new and depending on me. I mean, I knew Ranger said I wasn't doing this alone. He said he would take care of me. Of us. Used the words girlfriend and baby like we'd be a happy little family. But he was still holding back. What he was offering wasn't a real relationship. No matter the label.

Ella was looking at me. Motherly affection shining in her eyes. She put a hand on my shoulder. "I know it can be scary sometimes. Taking that next step. And I know Ranger can be…difficult. But he's a good man."

"I know."

"And he loves you."

The earnestness in her expression was so sweet it warmed my heart. I smiled. "I know that too."

"Good. Because I can tell you for certain, he's happier when you're around. And he works so hard. He deserves to be happy."

Hard to argue with that. Ella patted my arm and turned back to the laundry. "So your things? Should I hang them up?"

"I'm not sure. I don't know how long I'm staying."

"How about I just put them away for now then?"

I guess that sounded reasonable. I could always put them back in the basket later, right? I nodded. Ella beamed again. Tickled. At least one of us was excited about it. Personally, I was feeling a little queasy.

I helped Ella straighten up as much as she'd let me. Which wasn't a lot. After she left, I wasn't sure what to do with myself. I called Connie. Didn't have any new skips. And there were only two that were still outstanding. Well, one really, since we'd technically caught Mini. I worried for a minute whether she was still in one of those scary concrete cells in the basement. I got dressed properly and took the elevator all the way down. Found Nollen standing by the metal door. "Is she okay in there?"

"Yes ma'am. Tank had us set up the room for comfort. Ranger's orders. She's got a TV. Bed. Recliner. We're trying to talk her into using a safe house, but she's not interested. Said you made a persuasive argument about this building's security."

"I might have said something like that. Can I see her?"

Nollen nodded. Stepped aside.

Mini wasn't in the best mood, but she wasn't angry anymore. Seemed guaranteed safety and three gourmet Ella meals a day go a long way to making a girl happy.

I stopped in on 5 on my way back up. Figured since I didn't have anything to do upstairs there was no point rushing. The control room had a tense hum to it. Like they were expecting something to go down soon. They were probably right.

I waved to Hal on the monitors and he smiled.

Ranger's office door opened. His eyes finding me like he'd known I was there. He waved me over. "Did you need something to occupy your time?"

"No. Not yet. I was just checking on Mini and I thought I'd stop by."

The corner of Ranger's mouth twitched. He knew how much I loved sitting still. It was great when I needed a break from the crazy outside, but after a while the crazy inside always started winning. His smile surfaced. "Let me know if you change your mind. I've got meetings all afternoon, including my insurance rep at five." Ranger caught my fingers, weaving them with his in a casual, intimate way that made my stomach flutter. "Which brings up the question. How would you feel about being on my private insurance? Offers more coverage. More flexibility. Chances are we'll need it in a few months."

Oh boy. "Wouldn't we have to be married or something?"

"I called Marshall in so he could lay out the options. Shouldn't be a problem."

"I don't know. Sounds expensive."

"Babe, financial support was non-negotiable, remember? I can afford it."

That was true. And while I was still struggling with the whole total financial support thing, I could at least understand where he was coming from.

Ranger was amused when he tugged on my fingers, closing the little bit of space between us, brushing a light kiss across my lips. "Think about it. In the mean time, go ahead and set your clothes out for dinner, but don't bother getting dressed. I have plans for you before we leave."

"Oh?" I said. Getting warm. He chuckled and kissed me again, completely ignoring that we were in his control room in full view.

"Yes. Detailed plans."

"We can't be late."

"That's why you shouldn't get dressed," he said against my lips. The last kiss was lingering. Then he gave my ass a soft pat and stepped back into his office.

ooo

Ranger

Ranger held onto the taste of Stephanie throughout the rest of his client meetings. More often than not, client meetings were right up there with paperwork. A tedious but necessary part of the job. It was nice to remember how good it had felt to kiss her so openly. Enjoy the anticipation of coming home to find his woman naked.

Enjoy knowing that she was his woman. Free and clear.

His insurance rep showed up right at 5. Entering on Ranger's gesture. Marshall took the usual seat across the desk from him. "I appreciate you being available on such short notice."

"Of course. It's not a problem. You're a very busy man. So, what can I do for you today? Are we making adjustments to your fleet policy? Because as I've said, the premium will go down again if you removed your employee Ms. Plum from the vehicle roster."

Ranger held in the smile he felt. They'd been trying to kick Steph off that policy for years. Didn't appreciate the high turnover when karma took out the cars he lent her. The extra cost came out of the tax deductable entertainment budget, since it was pretty much the only funny they had at Rangeman, but the insurance company didn't find her antics nearly as cute as the rest of them. He leveled a stern glare at Marshall for emphasis. "I've made my thoughts clear on that. I actually asked you here because I have interest in adding Ms. Plum to my private health insurance."

That caught Marshall off guard. Wheels turning as he analyzed what that might mean. "She's already covered as a Rangeman employee. Despite the apparently sporadic nature of her employment."

"This has nothing to do with her employment. I'm looking to expand into a family policy."

Not what Marshall was expecting. "And you'd like this family policy to include Ms. Plum?"

"That's the idea. I'm assuming responsibility for her. That will include medical, vehicle, incidental. I want her covered from all angles."

"Assuming responsibility. What does that mean exactly? Because putting her on a family policy would imply some sort of relationship. Are you in a relationship with Ms. Plum?"

"Is that necessary information to upgrade her to premium coverage?"

"I suppose not. But isn't this the woman who losses more vehicles than all your men combined? Has fires at her apartment every few months? A policy for her won't be cheap."

"I don't care what it costs. I just want to know my options."

ooo

Ranger pushed through the door of his penthouse apartment and listened to the charged silence for a moment. Setting his keys and his gun on the sideboard in the hall. The rooms always felt different when Steph was in residence. More like a home. He smiled. And in a few months, they'd have a baby. A family. Hard to believe. He'd never thought it was something he could have. Yet here he was. Sharing his apartment, however briefly, with the woman he loved. Making plans for the future.

He let her gravity pull him into the bedroom. She was curled up in his bed, fast asleep again. Her crazy chocolate curls spilled out over his pillow, pale skin flushed from sleep the way it always did after they made love.

She really was incredible. The only woman he'd ever been tempted to want a future with. He'd never let himself consider it for more than a moment before. Knew it wasn't fair to tie her down to a man like him. But now that the damage was done, it was hard to deny the contentment. The amazement.

Please, God, don't let his bad karma mess it up this time.

He sensed it when she recognized his presence. Her breathing changing from relaxed to aroused. A smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth. He stripped off his clothes and slid into the bed beside her. Found her nearly as naked as he'd hoped. He got rid of the panties pretty quick. Kissed his way down her body until he reached his favorite part of her. Her fists knotted in the sheets. Her whole body alive.

He waited until she was panting, and then he moved over her and pushed inside. Marveling again that there was nothing between them. She arched into him and he scooped her up. Lifting her until she was seated across his thighs, their bodies still joined. His strength the only thing keeping her up. Her arms went around his neck. Breath in short bursts on his ear with the excited cries. Thrilling at every thrust as he brought her down on him over and over until she just about caught fire. He dropped her onto her back again and hit deep, pushing her over the edge. Her fingers digging into his back. Hungry. Possessive. He lost control at that. Letting her have every part of him as the relief took over.

God. If she hadn't already been pregnant that might have done it.

He left her laying there, limp and satisfied. Kissing her belly before he went to get dressed. She actually smiled. Caressing his face. He grinned and planted one more deliberate kiss. And then he headed to his closet to dress for dinner with his girlfriend's family.

As soon as he walked into the closet, he noticed the difference. It wasn't a solid wall of black anymore. There were marks of Stephanie everywhere. Jewel bright tones that stood out. Declaring without remorse that a woman lived here.

He'd been right. He did like it.

Steph was already half dressed when he came out in casual business attire. He tossed his jacket on the bed and approached her from behind. Zipping her skirt for her before he slipped his arms around her waist. She looked him over. "Does this mean you're coming to the viewing with us?"

"As opposed to letting my pregnant girlfriend walk into a mob event with only her granny for backup?"

"I see your point."

Ranger laughed silently, turning her in his arms. He kissed her lips softly. "I admit it's not exactly my idea of a good time, but considering the place is likely to be filled with not only Italian crime families, but several branches of law enforcement, I intend to stay with you all night."

"So the suit isn't just to impress my mother?" she asked, toying with the buttons on his chest.

"Babe. Do I seem the type to try and impress my girlfriend's parents?"

"No. But then you don't really seem the type to have a girlfriend either."

He chuckled. She had him there.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Steph

Grandma Mazur was standing in the doorway when Ranger parked the Cayenne in front of my parents' house. Drawn there by the mystic force that warned of approaching offspring. I worried for a second that the mystic force would rat me out. That somehow Grandma would know without even looking at me that there was more offspring than before. Ranger's hand closed around mine.

"Relax, Babe. It's just dinner with your folks. You do this every week."

"But you don't."

"Shouldn't matter. Unless you flat out tell them I got you pregnant, they have no reason to think this is any different than the other times you dragged me here."

I took a few deep breaths to try and keep the sick feeling at bay. Blew them out again with enough pressure to amuse him.

"You good?" he asked. I nodded. Pretty sure I heard him chuckling when he kissed my hand. Grandma had the screen door open when we got up to the house. "Well, don't you look nice?" she said to Ranger. "This one cleans up real good."

"You should see him in a tux," I told her. Almost as good as him in nothing at all. Ranger put a hand on my back and I caught the smile he was trying to hold in. He was reading minds again. Maybe remembering the eager response I'd had to seeing him naked right before we left.

My father glanced up from the television when we came in. Just a cursory once over that said _That guy again, huh?_ I held my breath for a second, waiting for him to say something, but he just turned back to his show. Not even remotely concerned that his daughter brought Batman home for dinner.

That was the nice thing about my dad. He didn't stress over the small things. Now as long as we could just escape the rest of the night without anyone finding out about the Batbaby, we'd be home free.

My mother's sharp eyes were on us from the open doorway in the dining room. "Stephanie, could you help me in the kitchen please?"

Crap.

Ranger's hand brushed along my spine. I was guessing it was meant to be supportive, but all I felt was that squirming panic in my stomach. "Be strong, Babe," he said, an obvious smile in his voice, knowing I was heading toward The Inquisition. Apparently no fear at all that the secret would get out.

Freaking Batman.

My mother was busy at the stove with her back to me when I braved my way into the kitchen. "Would you ladle the gravy into the gravy boat for me?"

A reasonable request, really. And one that would make the interrogation easier because I was trapped in one place, since denying a daughterly duty wasn't an option. It took some effort to hold in the sigh as I got out the gravy boat.

"So. You're spending a lot of time with Ranger lately."

Spending a lot of time _under_ Ranger lately. "We're working a case together. My FTA is a key witness in his fugitive investigation."

"But you brought him home for dinner."

"I've brought him home for dinner before."

"You used to bring Joseph to dinner, too. And the two of you were… almost engaged."

"Mom."

"I'm just saying. I don't understand why you'd break up with Joseph for a man like him."

"I didn't break up with Joe for Ranger. Joe and I agreed things weren't working and we needed some space. Ranger wasn't a factor."

"Is that how you ended up with him in Hawaii?"

"I explained that. He was there to help me catch The Rug." The impregnation was just a bonus.

Jeez. The panic squirmed deeper, making me a little sick.

Grandma came in through the kitchen door. "Ranger's a hot one, but he's not much fun. He wouldn't tell me about the head they found in your fridge. Said it was part on an open investigation."

My mother made the sign of the cross. "You never had body parts in your refrigerator before you started working for your no good cousin Vinnie."

"Yeah, and remember how boring that was?" Grandma said. "And now she gets to have all kinds of adventures and hang around with hot guys. Admit it, Helen. That Ranger is real handsome."

"Like the devil himself."

This conversation was making my stomach hurt.

"You know, Mona Torelli's son just moved back from managing a project oversees. Isn't that exotic?"

Yep. Hurting big time. I hurried with the gravy and handed the boat to Grandma, then went for the stairs. I barely got the door shut and locked before I lost it. And not just lunch and breakfast, but everything I've eaten in the last year.

ooo

Ranger

Frank had grunted as soon as Edna vanished into the kitchen, taking some effort to get out of his chair. "Crazy old bat."

Ranger held in a smile. That wasn't inaccurate.

Stephanie's father came over to take his usual seat at the table. Eyed Ranger where he stood, completely at ease with his surroundings.

The first time Frank had ever met Ranger, he'd been in street mode. Pony tail. Combat boots. Enough gold chains around his neck to secure bail for murder one. Enough tough swagger to look like that might be necessary. Frank had looked at him funny, but ultimately he'd gotten over it. The second time he hardly batted an eye. Interesting, considering Ranger was the kind of man girls usually brought home to piss off their parents. But Frank. Frank seemed to accept Ranger's presence in Stephanie's life without the least bit of hostility.

This time, he was appraising Ranger with a little more attention.

"Are you dating my daughter?" he finally asked.

"Stephanie and I work together."

"That's not an answer."

The smile was getting more insistent. Used to be men like Frank Plum would be afraid of men like Ranger. Apparently protective papa outweighed pudgy working-class middle-aged Italian guy. "Would that be a problem?"

Frank tossed a dismissive hand and pulled out his chair. "I'm just trying to keep up. Nobody ever tells me anything around here." He took a seat. "So, you own a big fancy security company." Ranger nodded. "And you own that building too?"

"Yes." And several others across four states.

"That's pretty impressive. How'd you get into that?"

"It's what I'm good at."

Frank nodded to show he understood doing what you were good at.

A distinct noise filtered down from the bathroom upstairs. Frank didn't seem to notice, but Ranger knew without question what it was. Steph was experiencing some morning sickness. He was just analyzing his options on how to get upstairs without causing a scene when a flush preceded the opening door. Edna and Helen swept into the room in turn to put dinner out on the table. Ranger cut his eyes to Steph when he heard the stairs creak. She was paler than usual. A light sheen of sweat on her brow. Not good. If her complexion didn't improve quickly he was calling it a night, promises or no. He'd sacrifice a couple of his men on the altar of Edna if he had to.

He pulled out Steph's chair for her and helped her slide in. Taking the seat next to hers. "Babe?"

She nodded. Trying to show him she was fine. Ranger accepted the potatoes and passed them to Stephanie, hoping it wouldn't aggravate the morning sickness again.

"Did you get a new car yet?" Edna asked of Stephanie as she passed the gravy. Took Steph a second to answer. She was still a little green.

"No. Not yet," Steph managed.

"That really was a shame what happened. That little silver one was a pip. Are you driving one of Ranger's cars 'till you can get a new one? Or did you need to borrow Big Blue?"

"Ranger said I could use one of his until I replace it."

Actually, he'd intended her to use his cars indefinitely, according to their agreement, but he could understand why she wouldn't want to tell her family that. Helen took another swig of wine. Heading into her second sheet.

"You're kinda pale," Edna said to Stephanie. "You coming down with something?"

"I'm fine," Steph said, trying really hard to mean it. He saw it when she got sick again.

Ranger put an arm around the back of her chair and leaned close. "Deep breaths, Babe."

"If I breathe any deeper I'm gonna ralph all over your lap," she whispered.

Ranger chuckled, stroking her shoulders. That would be an unfortunate turn of events considering she'd been coming on his lap not half an hour ago. "Babe, say the word and we'll call it a night. I can leave Hal and Nollen to drive your granny."

"Will they get hazard pay if we go back to Rangeman?"

Helen's ears perked up. Not quite drunk enough to miss the familiarity. "What does that mean, back to Rangeman?"

Steph's face fell. Turning two shades greener. "Nothing. It's just temporary."

Wrong thing to say to a sharp-eyed catholic mama, no matter how drunk. The wheels turned a half beat slower in Helen's head, but she got there pretty quickly. "Omigod. You're living together?"

"Temporarily," Steph said.

"What's temporarily? Either you're living in sin or you're not."

"I wouldn't mind living in sin with someone that hot," Edna put in.

"Mother, please."

"I don't know why you're making such a fuss. Stephanie used to spend plenty of time with the Morelli boy, and you pretended not to notice."

"That was different. Joseph comes from a good catholic family, and he was the kind of nice boy who would marry her. What do we know about this one? Nothing. What if she got pregnant?"

Steph looked like she was having trouble holding onto consciousness. "It was an accident!"

Ranger swung his eyes to Stephanie. Schooling his face so she wouldn't see the amused surprise. Steph was so focused on not losing whatever was left in her stomach that she hadn't noticed the hanging jaws or that she'd blown her own secret.

He'd always known she had the potential to go goofy. He'd just never actually seen it.

"Babe, we should get you home before—"

Too late. The green won and she shoved back from her chair, sprinting for the stairs. Leaving Ranger standing there under the shocked eyes of his pregnant girlfriend's flabbergasted family. The most surreal thing he'd ever experienced.

"You got my daughter pregnant?" Frank managed to say. Ranger tried to keep his face blank when he looked at Stephanie's father. The man who had shrugged not five minutes ago at the idea of Ranger dating his daughter. Guess there was a line after all.

"It didn't happen by intention, but yes."

Frank seemed to be struggling with that while Helen drained another glass of wine. "Are you going to do right by her?" he asked.

"I am doing right by Stephanie. In every way that's available to me at the moment."

"Are you going to marry her?"

"We only found out yesterday. She's still in shock, as you can tell. Hasn't been up for settling much. But I assure you, if and when that topic comes up for discussion it won't be open for public debate. Are we clear?"

"But you intend to stick around?"

"For as long as Stephanie wants me to. Now if you'll excuse me."

Ranger didn't wait for Frank or Helen to make another protest. He just turned his back on them and took the stairs to the second floor bathroom.

ooo

Steph

I was still praying to porcelain gods when I heard the bathroom door open and close again. Ugh. Could have sworn I locked it. Stupid queasy stomach, messing with my head. Then a pair of strong, warm hands brushed my arms. Gathered my curls out of the way. Ranger. Great. Batman gets to see me at my most dignified and sexy. I felt the tears before my face scrunched up. "Just kill me now."

"It can't be that bad."

"You're not supposed to see me like this," I whimpered.

Ranger was all around me, smoothing the curls away from my face. Pretty sure I heard him chuckle. "Babe, I've seen you be unwell before. I've seen you drunk. Injured. Drugged. I'm not going to stop wanting you just because of a little morning sickness." He brushed a kiss to my ear.

There were some shushes and whispering from the hallway just on the other side of the door. Oh god. "Please tell me that's not what I think it is."

"Do you think it's your mother and grandmother trying to eavesdrop at the bathroom door after the outburst you made downstairs?"

"They know you're in here?"

"They know a lot more than that, Babe. You kind of spilled your guts before you bolted."

Omigod! Now I really did want to die!

Ranger gathered me up when I started to cry again. Pulled me into his lap right there on the bathroom floor, his back against the wall. No concern whatsoever for his sexy black clothes. His jacket was off. Draped over the sink. His body cradling mine. "It's going to be okay, Babe. You're mother didn't have a heart attack. You're father didn't even threaten me with bodily harm."

"That's only because he's afraid of you."

"One of the many perks of being me."

Ranger laughed at me when I frowned. Kissed my head and held me close. "The worst is over, I promise. In fact, I'm pretty sure the thing aggravating the morning sickness is just your nerves. I bet when you're able to calm down you'll feel better. You're under a tremendous amount of stress trying to carry this all yourself. It's not good for you, and it's not good for the baby. What's the worst that'll happen now that your parents know?"

"My mother's going to hound me constantly until we get married."

"So words?"

"It's more than words!"

Ranger shook his head. "Babe. You're the strongest, most stubborn woman I know. You're not gonna bend to someone else's will if you don't want to. Trust me. Which means nagging will only have power over you if you let it."

"It's not that simple."

"It is. Steph, no one's going to force you into making decisions you're not ready for. I won't let them. This is between you and me. Any consequences outside of that are just words. And words are just wind."

"How did you get to be so smart?"

His chest moved under my cheek when he laughed. He kissed my head again. "Faced a lot of consequences more solid than wind."

Okay, that did kind of put things into perspective. My mother might give Ranger the stink eye for a while, but at least no one was shooting at us. Ranger brushed the curls back from my face and our eyes held. His crinkling at the edges. He leaned down and kissed me lightly on the lips. "Feeling better?"

"Maybe."

"Offer still stands if you want to head home. The guys would probably love handing your granny over to Nollen. I'm sure they could get very creative when they tell him the kind of trouble he'll be in when she inevitably causes a scene on his watch."

"Tempting. But I think I'm okay to finish dinner now."

"You just want the pineapple upside-down cake, don't you?"

"I earned it!"

Ranger was laughing at me again. He rested his forehead on mine. His hand caressing my belly. "I'm proud of you, Babe."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. I don't think you've ever appreciated just how brave you are."

"I'm not brave."

"Babe, you're the bravest person I known. And believe me, that's saying something. Now come on, let's get you up. Time to feed the pregnant lady."

"But what if my mother is mad I got pregnant and she won't let me have cake?"

He laughed again.

Must have thought I was joking.

Ranger lifted me up and got to his feet. Picked up his jacket from the sink before he unlocked the door and pulled it open. My mother and grandmother threw on overly innocent expressions like they hadn't been pressed to the door straining to hear every word. The amused smile Ranger gave them did nothing to diminish his natural authority. "Are we all good here?"

That got some awkward nodding from the women in my family. Ranger took my hand and led the way back downstairs where my father was still seated at the table working on his pot roast in peace. Ranger gave him a curt nod when he glanced up at us. Still completely at ease. If anybody else had been shoved into the middle of a family drama and had that bomb dropped in their laps, they would have freaked out. Not Ranger. Ranger was the master of control.

He pulled out my seat for me and then took his own. Helping himself to some pot roast. "You bring up a fair point, Helen," he said like the conversation from earlier hadn't been interrupted in the most bazaar way ever. He passed me the pot roast and took some vegetables. "You don't know much about me. And as it seems we're going to be seeing more of each other with Stephanie and I having a child together, it seems only fair I change that. Might put you a little at ease to know I was also raised in a good Catholic family."

Mom's eyebrows shot up, but she tried to hide it. Didn't want to be rude when Ranger had all but opened the floor. "Do you attend mass often?" she asked as politely as she could.

"Not as often as I would like. I try to make it at least once a month in Newark with my grandmother, mother and sisters, but I only average half that with my usual work schedule."

"You work a lot, then?"

"I run a very successful private security company with major command centers in four states. That does take up a fair amount of my time."

"So will you even be able to help raise a child?"

I tried to interrupt, but Ranger put a hand on mine to let me know he was fine to answer. He looked back at my mother. "We have approximately eight months to figure it out. But I promise you, if Stephanie wants my involvement, I'll make the time."

"If I remember, you already have a child out of wedlock, don't you?"

"Mom!"

"It's alright, Steph," he said with a half smile, squeezing my hand before he turned his attention back to my mother. "Julie's mother and I were married briefly while I was in the service. It didn't work out, but I'm still on good terms with her and her husband. Julie lives with them in Florida."

"And are you involved in her life?"

"As much as Rachel wants me to be. I visit a few times a year. Julie calls me on occasion. She's twelve now. Starting to show more interest in my side of the family."

"I bet she'll be excited to be a big sister," Grandma said.

Ranger gave her a patient smile. "She already has a few younger siblings from Ron and Rachel, but I think it's safe to say she'll be pleased. She really likes Stephanie."

"Why didn't it work out? If you don't mind my asking," Mom added hastily in an attempt to make it sound less rude. She tried not to back down when Ranger cut his eyes her way. There was a tense moment when I wasn't sure he was going to answer.

"Rachel and I got married because she was pregnant with Julie. We were young and stupid, but we were never in love. Didn't seem like a good idea to stay married just because of a single drunken night in our early twenties."

"Is that why you won't marry Stephanie now? You think it would be a mistake?"

"As I said before, what happens between Steph and I now isn't open for public debate."

This was said with the kind of finality that closes a discussion. My mother actually swallowed. Looked like it tasted sour. There was silence for a long moment. Filled only with the soft scrape of silverware on ceramic. Eventually, Grandma broke it.

"You have a gun, right?"

Ranger's mouth twitched like he was thinking about smiling. "Yes."

"Can I see it?"

"No."

"Stephanie says you don't shoot people."

"That's the goal."

"When was the last time you did shoot someone?"

Ranger looked over at me, laughter in his eyes like he was asking permission. I just shrugged. "Couple days ago," he said to Grandma. "We rolled in to talk to a cooperating asset and found a rival attempting to kill him. I stopped that from happening."

"Well, isn't that something! Did he die?"

Jeez Louis! "No! He didn't die. Nobody died. Ranger doesn't kill people." That I know of.

Ranger didn't bother to hide his grin. Directed it at Grandma again. "It was just a flesh wound."

Grandma looked disappointed. No doubt she thought it would make a better story at the beauty parlor if her granddaughter's new boyfriend had killed someone.

Crap.

"None of this is to become public knowledge," I warned, looking pointedly at Grandma. "Promise me."

"I finally get something good and you don't want me share it? The ladies would be hanging on my every word with something this juicy."

"No, no, no. No telling people I'm pregnant. No talking about Ranger shooting people. Nothing."

"Can I tell the ladies you got yourself a hot new boyfriend?"

"No!"

I couldn't believe Ranger was still smiling. Watching the exchange like it was a comedy show. I looked to him for help and the smile got bigger. He was enjoying himself. "Tell you what," he finally said to Grandma. "You let Stephanie decide when she's ready for the news to break and we'll let you have the exclusive. Relationship, baby, the whole nine yards."

Grandma sucked on her dentures, weighing that for a second. "How many people already know?"

"Outside of this room and the obstetrician? Two."

"Stephanie's friends from the bonds office?"

"My second in command and one other. Neither will say a word, I promise you."

She rolled her dentures around, thinking hard. "What about her sister Valerie?"

"You can tell her now as long as she keeps it to herself. And Steph has the right to share with Lula, Connie, and her friend Mary Lou at her discretion."

"But I'd get everyone else?"

"That's the deal."

She weighed that a while longer. Clearly tempted. "How long do you think that would take?"

"That would be up to Stephanie. Could be seven weeks from now when she enters the second trimester and the risk of miscarriage drops. Could be in a few months when she starts to show."

"That's a long time for it to stay a secret."

"You look like a woman who enjoys a good gamble."

I could tell when Ranger won the negotiation. Grandma was indeed a woman who enjoyed a good gamble. Ranger had just bought me at least seven weeks to come to terms with everything before the entire Burg knew that I was having a love child with Batman. I could have kissed him right there in front of everyone.

"So, what are we supposed to call you now?" my mother asked him. "Am I supposed to refer to my daughter's boyfriend by a street name? Are you even my daughter's boyfriend?"

Ranger cut his eyes to me, the laughter still on his face. "What do you think, Babe? Am I your boyfriend?"

That gave me a first class rush, settling warm and squishy in my stomach. "Maybe."

He grinned. "As far as what you call me," he said, looking back to my mother. "If it would make you more comfortable, my given name is Carlos. But just so you know, only my mother calls me Carlos. Everyone else calls me Ranger, my family included."

That took me by surprise. "Your own family calls you Ranger?"

He just shrugged.

"What about your dad? Your brother and sisters? Your cousins?"

"All of them. Celia says it suits me better since I came home."

"Your grandma Rosa?"

"She calls me mio."

"Nieces and nephews?"

"Uncle."

"Smartass. Uncle what?"

He was laughing at me. "Babe, if you had a choice between calling your mother's brother Uncle Ranger or Uncle Carlos, which would you choose?"

He had a point. "Old friends from school?"

"Didn't have a lot of friends before I moved to Miami. Then I was only back for two years of college before I joined the Army at twenty. Most of those friends adopted the name Ranger like everyone else when I came back."

"Wow."

Another shrug. Like it wasn't a big deal that everyone he knew acknowledged in that small way that he was a different man now than he used to be.

"So, how does this work if you're just the boyfriend?" my mother went on. "If you were her husband, you'd be taking care of her. But a boyfriend…"

"I've made it clear to Stephanie that she has complete control over everything but that. Financial support was non-negotiable."

"Can you afford that? Children are very expensive."

"Helen, the man owns a Porsche," my dad put in from his quiet corner of the table.

We all turned to look at my father. Thought he'd been absorbed in cleaning his plate like the rest of us weren't talking. Didn't expect he was paying attention. He glanced up at us when he realized we were staring. "I'm just saying. With that big, fancy security company he own, in how many states? Four? I think he can afford to provide for Stephanie and our grandchild. Hell, he could probably afford private school all the way through. Right?"

"Right," Ranger said, eyeing my dad for the first time. "How about you, Frank?" Ranger asked him. "You have anything you want to know?"

My dad glanced up at Ranger. Holding his eyes for a second while he chewed thoughtfully.

"Do you love my daughter?"

"Yes sir. More than my own life."

My dad seemed appeased by that. Gave Ranger a tiny nod of approval before he looked at my mother. She took the signal and popped out of her seat. "Who's ready for dessert?"


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Ranger

Things fell into a smoother rhythm again after the ice was broken. Frank moved onto his dessert without batting another eye, and Edna was actually beaming. Helen still wasn't thrilled that Steph was pregnant with no proposal in sight, but he could see that she was willing to let it go. For now. Must have realized Ranger wasn't the kind of man to be swayed by public opinion.

Steph was much more relaxed after she got her pineapple upside-down cake. Ate her helping and his while he watched her with amusement, drinking his coffee. Took her a while to realize it, too. "What?"

"Cute."

"Because I'm eating your cake?"

"Because you're enjoying it so much," he said, leaning closer so the others wouldn't hear. "Usually I have to put in a lot more effort to get those sounds from you."

That raised her body temperature a couple degrees. "I'm eating for two, you know."

"Babe, she's the size of a grain of rice. How much do you think she eats?"

"She?"

Ranger shrugged at that, brushing a caress across her shoulder. "I know there's a fifty/fifty chance, but I kind of like the idea of a little you."

"As opposed to a mini Ranger?"

"Babe, if you knew the little punk I was growing up you'd understand how frightening that would be. I'd rather have a goofball than a terrorist."

"You think I'm a goofball?"

"Babe."

Her eye roll was impressive. Made it hard for him to keep his laughter on the inside. "You know any daughter of yours is going to be trouble later, right? You've seen how pretty Julie is."

"Yeah. And any boy stupid enough to ignore her scary as hell dad deserves to disappear and never be seen again. I believe they call it natural selection."

"That's not funny."

"It's a little funny."

Ranger knew the rest of the table was paying more attention to their quiet exchange now that they knew for certain what was between them. He could feel the eyes. He held in a laugh and pulled Steph close enough to kiss her head. A tender gesture to further put them at ease.

Edna was the first one to speak. "We better get going if we wanna get good seats. This'll be a big one, what with it being a murder and all. Those always get real crowded."

"You are responsible for her," Helen said to Stephanie. "Do not let her cause another scene like she did last time."

"Last time wasn't my fault. That lid sprang open all on its own. It was fate."

"It was you with a nail file. You can't do that. It's upsetting. They have closed casket funerals for a reason."

"People feel deprived when they don't get a chance to see the deceased. How are we supposed to know who's in there? It could be anybody. How do we know they're even dead?"

Helen made the sign of the cross over her chest, a reflex Ranger often saw from his grandmother, and then she turned to Steph again. "Keep her under control, or I'm not making another pineapple upside-down cake for a year."

Ranger's amused eyes were pulled to Steph when she blew out a heavy sigh. Guess that threat held a lot of weight. Steph took her dessert pretty seriously.

He gave Frank a nod of respect and thanked Helen for the meal, and then stood to pull Stephanie's chair out for her, unable to keep the laughter out of his eyes. Steph shot him a reproachful grimace when she saw it and he nearly lost his composure. He got them into the Cayenne before she could get mad at him. Drove them the short distance to the funeral home.

Vince pulled his fleet vehicle out of the spot nearest the doors. Tickling Steph's granny. "We should do this with Ranger more often," she said on the sly. "I can't remember the last time I got to park so close."

"He has good parking karma," was Steph's answer.

He pulled into the spot a second before his phone buzzed. A pattern he never liked to hear. He looked at the phone and had that confirmed. Fuck.

"What is it?" Steph asked.

"Break in. Looks like multiple locations." Ranger hit Tank on speed dial and pressed the phone to his ear. His friend answered on the first ring.

"We've got a half dozen alarms going off at once, spaced evenly around the perimeter of Trenton. All of them were tripped in the same minute."

"Have we confirmed the breach?"

"No one has eyes yet. None of them were accounts with video, so we can't confirm from the control room. I've dispatched teams to each of the locations and alerted PD, but given the firewalls we have against cyber attack this could only be a multi location coordinated assault."

"Which means either someone wants to mask their real target by setting us scrambling, or it's a diversion to weaken our defenses."

"Either way, it's not good."

"This has distraction written all over it. Alvarez is making his move. Have we identified possible targets aside from Rangeman?"

"Nothing obvious. Romero's locked down tight. Only major event tonight is the Thumbelli viewing, and that'll be crawling with law enforcement."

"That wouldn't stop Alvarez. He's focused on the long game. Doesn't care about losing pawns. Call it in to TPD, put them on high alert. And then circle the wagons. I want Rangeman covered, and I want enough backup around the perimeter here to cover all routes. I want to know if and when a force is coming."

"What about Steph?"

"I've got her with me. We're already at the funeral home. I'm taking her inside to get a feel for the site. Talk to our contacts here. With any luck, we can keep control of this and prevent whatever casualties he'd had in mind. Who do we have on location?"

"Hal and Nollen are inside. Vince and Raphael on your 6."

"Good. Send two more teams to watch the front and back entrances. I want this place locked down. And I want an open channel. Call signs at interval to account for all operators."

"You got it."

Ranger hung up and tucked the com into his ear. Heard it when the channel opened company wide.

"How many locations are being hit?" Steph asked him.

"Six."

"Oh boy."

"Yeah. Someone's trying to stretch my resources thin. There's a small chance this might precipitate a move on Rangeman. Scatter my forces to make the building vulnerable. But that would be out of character for the man we're up against. He doesn't do obvious. Which means he'll be coming at us from the side. Would have planned this out with known variables from the beginning. We need to get inside and figure out what that plan was and how to stop it." He cut his eyes to Edna, who was watching with bated breath from the back seat. "You want me to have Vince drop your granny back at home?"

"Don't you dare," Edna said. "I'm not missing this."

Ranger looked at Stephanie. She was torn. "Say the word, Babe, and I'll send you both to Rangeman. Lock down the building just to be safe."

"No. I'm staying with you. I'm not hiding while you handle this alone."

"Fair enough." He opened the glove compartment. Pulled out the panic button. "Keep this on you at all times in case we're separated." He hooked a finger in the neckline of her blouse and stuck it deep in her bra. Copped a feel in the process knowing her granny didn't have a great view. Steph was shocked for a second, but then the smirk won, lifting one corner of her mouth. "You have your gun on you?"

"I've got mine," Edna volunteered.

Steph spun in her seat. "No, no gun! You promised mom you'd get rid of it."

"I'm an old lady, I have a right to protect myself."

"This place is crawling with cops and FBI!"

"I'll only use it if I have to."

Steph turned to Ranger expectantly, like she wanted him to do something about it. A boyfriend one day and he was already being pushed in the middle of things. It took some serious effort not to grin or roll his eyes. "Maybe you should give Steph the gun."

Edna didn't look happy. Pulled a sizeable .45 from her purse Mary Poppins style. Hesitated before she handed it over. "I thought you'd be more fun," she said to Ranger.

The grin won.

ooo

Steph

Ranger came around to open my door for me. Offered Grandma a hand down from the back seat. Then he wrapped his hand around mine and led me toward the front door. Carson and Pritchard were standing outside with a bunch of other guys. They had _Fed_ written all over them. Pritchard acknowledged Ranger with a nod and then smiled at me. "I should have known you'd show up here. You following a lead or is it just my lucky day?"

"We're here with my Grandma. She wanted to pay her respects."

Pritchard nodded, his amused eyes taking in Grandma in her pink floral blouse and matching pink skirt and orthopedic shoes. Probably thought she looked like a sweet old lady that needed escorting by her dutiful granddaughter. Little did he know. Grandma might look like an underfed soup chicken, but I had a feeling that if the world ended in a nuclear blast, the only things to survive would be the cockroaches and Grandma.

Carson eyed me too, taking in the casual way Ranger's hand was around mine. Hard to tell what he was thinking. Kind of surprising that I didn't see any open hostility. Maybe I was growing on him.

Ranger offered a hand and leaned close when Carson shook it. Said something to him that I couldn't hear. Carson's spine stiffened. He nodded and cut his eyes to the door before he pulled out his phone and made a call.

"What was that about?" I asked Ranger as he led us into the crowded building.

"Carson's calling FBI Director Gillian. Mobilizing SWAT incase we're right and a show of force is coming. We'll want to be ready for anything."

That made total sense. It did. But it was also making my stomach squishy again.

The funeral home was packed when we got inside. We stood there in the crush, scanning the room like there would be armed assailants everywhere. I didn't see anything too alarming. Tommy Thumbs would be in slumber room one. The largest of the three, reserved only for prominent lodge members and murder victims. The people more likely to draw a crowd. The fact this was a mob death made it even trickier. Lots of plainclothes cops and undercover feds. I felt kind of bad for the families who had to share the evening with Tommy. All three slumber rooms were full, from the looks of it. And from the glimpse I got on my way past, all three were closed caskets tonight.

That would drive grandma crazy.

"What are we looking for?" Grandma asked me. I was kind of surprised she hadn't gone straight for Thumbelli. Must have realized the gravity of what was going down. Figured she'd stay with the action. I didn't know what to tell her.

Ranger's hand tightened around mine. "What do you see that's wrong here, Babe?"

"You mean aside from the badly dressed feds?"

The corner of his mouth twitched. "Yes. Aside from that."

I scanned the room again. The squishy feeling getting stronger. "The caskets. They're all closed."

"What are the odds of three closed caskets in one night?"

"Not good. You think this is what the test run was about? You think there are drugged victims in all three of those caskets?"

"Only one way to find out. Trouble is doing it without causing a scene."

"You leave it to me," Grandma said. And then she slipped away and vanished into the crowd. I tried to follow where she'd gone, but I couldn't see any sign of her at all. "Damn! I'm never getting pineapple upside-down cake again."

Ranger chuckled beside me. "Don't stress, Babe. You're secret's safe with me." He touched his ear. "Granny's on the move. Do you have eyes?" He listened for a second. "Cover the second and third rooms just in case. Steph and I will head for Thumbelli. I want the rooms contained before she pops the casket. Working theory is they contain drugged plants with a high probability of extreme violence. Proceed with caution. How's the perimeter looking?" Another pause. "Could be they haven't arrived yet, but if we're right about the plants that would increase the likelihood he'll have men on site. Be vigilant." He touched his ear again. Putting his com back on mute. "Let's go get your granny."

"Do you really think he already has people here?"

"Enough to be able to switch out bodies. Deploy them effectively. That would mean at least one man per casket. Not to mention access to the back rooms. Could be Thumbelli and the others are still in the meat lockers. Also means they would be in communication, like we are. Could be Alvarez already knows we're here."

"That's comforting."

Ranger was thinking about smiling again. He cut through the crush. A natural channel parting for him. Yet another perk of being Ranger. Ranger didn't often have to fight through a crowd. When people saw him coming, they usually got out of the way.

We got near the big opening to slumber room one and my feet stuck to the carpet.

Morelli was standing with a leggy blonde. She had the kind of body that I always told myself was purchased. Mostly because it made me feel better. Deep down, I was pretty sure it was all as nature had intended. Which made me hate her even more.

Not that I needed flimsy reasons like vanity to hate Terry Gilman.

Morelli's spine stiffened. His eyes on me. Ranger paused to look at me when he felt me freeze. Followed my line of sight. Hard to tell what he was thinking. Ranger wasn't really one to display his emotions. Joe's face shuttered too. Made the guilt feel like hot lead in the pit of my stomach.

Ranger's hand gave mine a gentle squeeze. "I'm going to go stop your granny. Follow when you're through here."

"What? I—"

"Babe," he said softly. Immeasurably patient. I blew out a sigh.

"One of these days you're going to have to teach me how you read minds."

That earned me a tiny twitch of a smile. "It's not about mindreading, Babe. It's about body language. And yours says you have some unfinished business."

Oh boy, did I ever. Ranger lifted my hand and kissed it. Gave me a reassuring look before he released me and started for slumber room one. Only the tension in their postures showed the men were aware of each other as Ranger passed Morelli by. Might have been a brief brush of eye contact. And then Ranger was gone.

Terry's eyes had followed Ranger into the room with the kind of attention that suggested she was checking out his ass. Made me want to stab her with a stiletto heel. She only afforded me a polite glance when Morelli left her to come over to me. He was looking especially good, even with the cop face. His black hair curling along his neck in a way I always loved running my fingers through. And his eyes. Sharp and assessing. They were scanning me with enough careful intent to make me tingly.

There were no indications of his feelings when he came to stand next to me, facing the room with his arms crossed over his chest. What was it with the men in my life and the Fort Knox expressions? I wasn't capable of half that level of control.

Morelli cut a glance at me out of the side of his eye. Turning his attention back to the archway. "So. You and Ranger, huh?"

All I could do was shrug.

"Is it official?"

"Which part?"

"Cupcake, you know which part. Are you and him a thing now?"

"I don't know. Maybe. It's all been happening kind of fast. I'm still trying to catch my breath."

Joe was quiet a second. Still watching the open archway where Ranger had vanished. He drew in a slow breath and held it a second before he let it out. "You know for sure that it's his?"

"Joe."

"I'm just saying. You were with him in Hawaii, but you and me… we were together before. And after. If there's any uncertainty about the dates…"

"We saw a doctor yesterday. After the bomb. He did an ultrasound to make sure everything was okay. Confirmed that I'm five weeks. There's no uncertainty."

"Christ," he whispered under his breath. Staring at his shoes for a long moment. "What are you gonna do? Are you gonna keep it?"

I bit my lip. Praying I could keep the tears from my eyes. "I can't not keep it, Joe."

He nodded. Understood that. Even if he didn't like it. "You know you don't have to be with him just because he got you pregnant," he said softly. "You have options."

"Like what?"

"Like me."

The surprise was so sudden I think I stopped breathing. My eyes flew to him, but he was still staring at his shoes. Giving nothing away. "What does that mean?"

"It means I don't give a rat's ass whose baby it is, Steph. I've been wracking my brain since last night trying to come to terms with this and the only thing I keep coming back to is you." He looked up at last. His dark eyes holding mine. "I still love you. I've always loved you. And I don't want you to feel like you have to give up your whole life to Ranger just because of a fling in Hawaii. He won't marry you, but I will. Hell, I'd marry you tomorrow if that's what you wanted."

"You can't be serious."

"Steph, I've never been more serious in my life."

"What about Ranger?"

He shrugged, a glint of humor breaking through. "We'll think of him like a sperm donor. I've seen his daughter. He makes cute kids."

"I was right. I've crossed into Bizzaro World."

Joe actually smiled. "You're such a goofball." He shook his head. "Just say you'll think about it, alright? We don't have to wash everything we have down the drain because you made a few mistakes while we were on a break."

"You were the one who said we should back off."

"Yeah, that's because I'm an idiot."

No arguments there. Joe was very smart in a lot of ways. Just not when it came to grown up things like relationships. I pulled my eyes away from him and looked back toward the slumber room. Saw Terry watching us. Couldn't help the twinge of jealousy. "You're spending a lot of time with Terry?"

"Not a _lot_ of time."

"She still wants you."

"Yeah, well. Terry doesn't always get what she wants."

I didn't know what to say to that. Part of me would have felt less guilty if Morelli was having flings of his own instead of making declarations and offers. But then, other parts of me would have had to rip her hair out for sleeping with him.

I realize that was pretty hypocritical of me. And realizing that showed personal growth, right?

Ranger showed up in the open archway again. Gestured to us both. Morelli and I exchanged a look before we went after him.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Ranger

The tension between Steph and Morelli was still palpable, but Ranger could see there wasn't any anger or resentment left in Morelli's posture. At least not toward Stephanie. He could still see it when the man looked at him. Like Ranger was a problem he wished he could solve.

Yeah, good luck with that. Ranger had fought his demons long and hard to get to the point he could accept bringing Steph and a child into his life. No way in hell was he going to let Joe Morelli undermine that. No matter how hurt he was. But Ranger also knew better than to let any of that show in his expression. He was careful to set the professional demeanor before he turned to Morelli.

"I've got men placed at intervals around the perimeter. One of them reported seeing four SUVs fleeing the scene shortly before SWAT arrived outside. Seems our mastermind has aborted his plan. Must have read the increased police presence and cut his losses."

"That's good news. Could have been a lot of casualties if they'd pulled something similar to last night. We confirm yet that was their plan?"

"I've talked to Anthony Thumbelli. Took some convincing, but he's agreed to let us open the casket. There would have been more to the plan, depending on his ultimate goal. Three violent plants wouldn't have gotten very far in this crowd. Something Alvarez would have known. I'm betting the four SUVs were full of an assault team, on standby to do a sweep while the plants served as a distraction."

"What kind of twisted asshole is this guy?"

"A desperate one."

Ranger heard a call sign in his ear. Hal and Nollen were in place with their plainclothes counterparts. Truth time. Ranger made sure the room was as cleared as it could be before he shut the wide double doors. Crossed the room under the watchful eyes of Thumbelli and his men. Edna was still standing at the head of the casket where she'd have a prime view. That had been the deal he'd struck. She'd kept anyone else from opening it as long as she got the first look. A fair tradeoff. Edna might be as wild and unpredictable as Stephanie, but at least she was easy to handle when you had something she wanted.

Ranger gave a nod to the funeral director. The man was very nervous. Understood the implications if there had in fact been a breach. He hesitated a second, and then he unlatched the coffin. Strained to lift the heavy lid.

The air was sucked out of the room for a moment as the assembly held their collective breath. Took a second for what they were seeing to sink in. The man laid out in the soft ivory satin wasn't dressed in the customary suit. He was in ragged blue jeans and a soiled hoodie. And he was most definitely not Tommy Thumbs.

Anthony Thumbelli was not pleased. "What the hell kind of place are you running here?" he demanded of the funeral director. The anxious man didn't get a chance to defend himself. The body inside the casket twitched. Sending a shiver of revulsion through the room. Ranger had explained already that the man inside wouldn't be dead. Didn't stop the visceral reaction to seeing a stone still figure in a satin lined coffin react to the sound of Thumbelli's voice.

Ranger and Morelli moved as one. Ranger taking the head as Morelli handled the feet. Restraining the body before he could attack. Wasn't easy. He started bucking and twisting. His teeth snapping at Ranger's arms as he grabbed onto the man's shoulders to flip him over. Morelli managed to get two sets of flexicuffs on the man's ankles. Pinned his legs down to help Ranger keep control as he double cuffed his wrists.

And then Morelli's eyes went round. "Fuck."

Ranger didn't have time to follow his line of sight. He was holding the man's jerking back, pressing him face down into the satin. Which got all the harder when Morelli let go and pulled his sidearm. Pointed it in Ranger's direction. And then he squeezed the trigger. The report from the weapon filled the room with the muzzle flash as Steph let out a squeal. And then a body hit the floor.

There was a rush behind Ranger. Thumbelli's men falling on the moaning assailant. A couple men came to take Ranger's place. Letting him turn to see a young Latino male bleeding on the floor, a pistol a foot from his face.

"Punk came out of nowhere and pulled a gun the second your back was turned. I didn't even see him come in," Morelli said, taking over. The assailant grunted when Morelli put a knee in his back, grinding his bleeding shoulder into the carpet to put on the cuffs. Morelli yanked the Bluetooth from his ear. "Musta been getting instructions from your mystery man. That cunning asshole is almost as crazy as you are."

"It's a high mark to live up to. The line still open?"

Morelli listened to the Bluetooth and shook his head.

Tank was in Ranger's ear. "What happened?"

"Alvarez made a show of pulling back his forces but left a shooter on site. Had him slip in while I was distracted with his Trojan horse. Morelli took him down."

Tank was silent a moment. Unwilling to say over the open channel that Ranger was lucky Morelli was a better cop than he was a boyfriend. "According to our sources, Delgado and Cruz's people have been buzzing an industrial section of Stark in addition to their home turf. Plugged the sightings into the mapping software and got a hot spot. I sent Hector to poke around right after the alarms went off."

Good choice. Hector wasn't on the normal roster. Lacked the size and military training Ranger usually put on the front lines. That, and the teardrop tattooed ex-con look had a tendency to make clients nervous. He mostly did in-house work handling the electrical elements of the custom security systems, which meant his face wasn't often associated with Rangeman. Small and wiry, and at home on the mean streets, he'd blend into that neighborhood like a shadow. "He check in yet?"

"No, but I expect him any minute. How'd one of Alvarez's men get through undetected?" Tank asked. Meaning _how'd the little punk get the drop on you?_

"Remember when I told you Steph equated the drug victims to the Walking Dead?"

"Yeah?"

"That was eerily accurate. I think it's safe to say it had the attention of everyone in the room."

"And Alvarez knew it," Tank said. Begrudging admiration in his voice. Alvarez wasn't just smart. He was a strategist. Thought six moves ahead. He would have known how to twist this fucked up situation to his advantage. Made his move in the thirty seconds Ranger was too distracted to watch his back.

Ranger heard Tank's phone chirp, and then his second in command issued an order and the line joined the open channel. Hector. Looped in so Ranger could hear.

Tank's Spanish was almost as bad and Hector's English.

" _Found something interesting_ ," Hector said. " _Lotta traffic coming in and out of a warehouse on the seventh block of Stark. Guys in colors that don't mix, if you know what I'm saying. Lots of M-16s and AKs_."

" _You get a head count_?" Ranger asked him.

 _"_ _Maybe three dozen coming and going. I count fifteen standing guard outside._ "

" _Keep watching. I want full intel before we arrive_." He switched back to English. "Hal, you still have Carson with you?"

"Yes sir."

"Send him to me. Tell him we have a likely location and we need to coordinate a takedown. We've confirmed that at least one coffin contains a live body. Means it's likely the other two do as well. You've seen one before. Make sure you emphasize the dangers to the relieving officers. I don't recommend opening them without at least six handlers standing nearby."

"Ambulances are in route for transport to St. Francis," Tank added. "ETA five minutes."

Hal and Nollen both acknowledged.

Good.

ooo

Steph

My heart was still pounding a mile a minute. Fear and guilt and panic squirming in my belly. Ranger had almost been shot! He'd brought me with him as backup and I'd been too freaked out by what was going on in the casket to watch his back. Not twenty minutes ago he'd been smiling and laughing and holding his own with my family. Talking boyfriends and babies like we might have a real future together. And then he was almost shot on my watch.

Omigod. I was going to be sick.

Ranger's eyes cut to me like he'd heard my thoughts. Freaking mindreading Batman. He didn't frown at me, though. Didn't seem to blame me at all for failing to protect him. For putting his safety in the hands of a man who had just offered to replace him. Steal his girlfriend and raise his child. But all I saw in Ranger's eyes was a hint of concern for me. Made the squirming guilt feeling so much worse.

Ranger turned his attention to his earpiece again. "Good. Then Vince and Raphael can drive Edna back to the Plum house before they take up position. Hal and Nollen, when you've been relieved report to me. I want you to take Stephanie back to Rangeman."

Wait, what? "I don't want to go to Rangeman."

"Babe, there's nothing more you can do from here."

"I know I screwed up, but you can't bench me!"

"Steph, you didn't screw up and I'm not trying to bench you. We have a possible location for Alvarez's base of operations. Only way you can be involved from here is if you suit up and go in with SWAT."

Oh. I guess it was harder to get upset about being cut out of the action when he put it that way. But the idea of him being in more danger was still freaking me out. He seemed to sense that. The corner of his mouth twitching just a little. Like he thought it was cute that I worried about him.

Hal and Nollen came into the room through the double doors with Carson. Carson glanced at me, and then looked at Ranger and the still struggling man being restrained behind him. It was taking four of Thumbelli's men to keep him from bucking out of the casket. His teeth snapping as he struggled to get free. Fighting with enough blind strength to make me afraid he was going to break his own arms. Carson was horrified when he looked back to Ranger.

"Are they all like this?"

"According to Hal's report. He saw Jessup when Steph did."

Carson looked from me to Hal for confirmation. Didn't like the answer. "Any way I can borrow your man here until we can get them to the hospital? I'd be happier if we had someone who had an idea what to expect."

Ranger considered that. His eyes on me. "That would leave Nollen without a partner. We have protocols in place while Rangeman is a target. No one goes alone. And I can't spare anyone else without breaking ranks."

"I wouldn't mind filling in," Joe said. Ranger cut his eyes to him and Joe just shrugged. "Just to the building and back, right?"

"Right."

Ranger and Joe just stared at each other for a second. It was always weird to see Joe and Ranger together. They were both professionals. Alpha males that understood the complicated balance required to work smoothly with another alpha male. And for the last few years, there'd been a strong rivalry underneath that. A tension they seemed to put on the backburner when needed for the greater good.

This time, the greater good was seeing a pregnant Stephanie put out of harm's way.

Eventually, Ranger nodded. His eyes moving to me. "Text me when you're in the control room."

"Sure."

He kept watching me for a moment longer. Like he didn't really want me to leave his sight. But he also knew he was right about my involvement. He couldn't leave until Alvarez was locked down. And that meant he was going places I couldn't follow. His eyes dropped to my belly and a tiny glint lit there. When his gaze held mine again he was holding back a smile. "Be safe, Babe."

"You too."

The corner of his mouth twitched like the smile might surface. Ranger cut his eyes to Nollen and nodded. Joe dragged the bleeding assailant to his feet and brought him with us. Handing him off as soon as we were out of the room.

Nollen led the way to the black Expedition. Got behind the wheel. Joe opened my door for me and let me slide in before he climbed in after me and shut it. Nollen twisted around in his seat to look at Joe. "Protocol is you ride shotgun."

"I told Ranger I'd fill in as backup. I didn't say I was following protocol. You got a problem with that?"

Nollen thought for a second. Must have decided it wasn't worth arguing. He put the Expedition in gear and pulled away from the curb, heading toward Rangeman.

It felt a little weird to have Joe in a Rangeman fleet vehicle. Like two very separate parts of my life were overlapping. His shoulder was pressed into mine, filling me with a familiar warmth that was hard to reconcile. He cut his eyes to me. Glancing at Nollen in the rear view mirror before he looked at me again. "You alright?"

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine. You look like you want to call in sick on the rest of your life."

Joe knew me very well.

He cut his eyes to Nollen again. Tossed his head in a telling way. "He know?" he asked quietly.

I shook my head. It was bad enough that Joe and my parents knew. Last thing I needed was for one of Ranger's Merry Men to find out I was pregnant. Rangeman was as bad as a beauty shop when it came to gossip. Secrets never made it outside of the building, but inside it spread like wildfire. Nollen wasn't exactly on the inside yet, so it was possible I could convince him there would be consequences if he broke my confidence, but I really didn't want to take the risk. "No one knows," I whispered back.

"Just me and Ranger?"

"And Tank. And as of an hour ago, my parents and grandmother."

"Oh goody. How'd that go?"

"Better than you'd expect. The morning sickness gets worse when I'm nervous and I kinda let it slip before I ran upstairs. Ranger handled it, though. Even got my mom to back off."

I caught it when Nollen's eyes cut to us through the rear view mirror. A frown visible in the crease of his brow. He didn't like the intimate whispering. Not after the way Joe had touched me last night at the Slayer crime scene. Might have worried he'd get in trouble for something happening on his watch.

We were already halfway to Rangeman. The streets good and quiet. Nollen turned his focus back to the road as we approach the intersection at Clinton. Didn't make the nervous feeling in my stomach ease. It was more than being so cozy with Joe in the back seat, both of us knowing I was carrying Ranger's baby. More than worrying about Nollen's suspicious glances. There was a whisper of tension in me that I couldn't ignore. Nollen crossed over Clinton.

The hum of an engine was the only warning before the grill of a black SUV smashed into the driver's side of the Expedition, shoving us hard in a shower of glass and shrapnel.

I couldn't feel anything when the shattered world stopped. I was shaking. Adrenaline fogging my brain. Fragmented darkness covering my eyes. My lungs wouldn't work. And there was pain. So many sharp pains all over my body that I couldn't tell what was hurting. And then the fear set in.

Glass crunched on the macadam outside the busted window. Footsteps. Oh god.

Joe was still next to me, but there was too much shadow to see him. The faint influence of the streetlights filtered in just enough that I could see his eyes were closed. Thick lines of black weeping down his face. I tried to call to him, but no sound came out.

The glass crunched again. The light cutting off when a figure leaned closer to the shattered window. "That's his girl, alright. Take her."

"What about the cop?"

"Bring him too. In case she needs incentive to behave."

A door wrenched open. Hands grasping at my body. And then the world turned black.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Steph

The ringing in my ears was making me sick. My face pressed into cold concrete. I vaguely remembered being dumped there. The voices above me turning angry. Took a second for the words to pass through my brain.

"I said to get her in one piece."

"At least we got her. They were already taking her back—" The voice cut off with a guttural grunt. Like he'd been punched in the stomach.

"Next time it'll be a bullet," the first man said. "And if it doesn't come from me, it'll come from him. Trust me. That fucker's scary as hell when he's just doing his job. What do you think will happen if you break his woman? Unharmed, she's a bargaining chip. But if he sees her this bloody he'll hunt us all to the ends of the earth. And he won't just cuff you and drag you back to jail. You'll be lucky if he kills you quickly."

"He's not fucking Batman."

"You wanna bet your life on that?"

The guy didn't answer. Smart move.

The words 'this bloody' sank into my mushy brain. Oh god. What did that mean? I tried to open my eyes to see. The warm hand on my neck caressed me when I moved. He knew I was waking up. "I apologize for my associate. He's a moron," he said pointedly, the anger still fresh despite the calm in his tone. Might have been a thread of something darker too. Like fear. "I never thought he'd resort to such crude and violent measures."

"How was I supposed to get her?"

I could hear the cold pause. The second guy swallowing hard under what must have been a scalding glare. "You'd better pray we can clean her up before he sees her. I wanted him off balance, not homicidal."

The first thing I saw was the dirty cement floor. Then the man leaning over me. I knew his face, but it took a minute for my brain to catch up. Alvarez. I'd seen enough pictures of him to be sure of that. He wasn't much older than I was. Black hair hanging over his forehead. His face handsome in a vague sort of way. A hint of fear hidden behind his sharp black eyes. He didn't look like he was planning to kill me. I should know. I'm pretty familiar with that particular expression. This man wasn't crazy. He was desperate. And I was sick to my stomach. "You don't know what you've done."

"Oh, sweetheart. I know exactly what I've done," he said, taking the wet rag that was handed to him to clean my face. "Ranger Manoso has been a thorn in my ass for way too long. I can't escape him, even with a head start. No matter how far I run. He doesn't have boundaries. And borders don't stop him. Only way to get out from under his shadow is to put a bullet between his eyes. Hell. Part of me wonders if even that'll stop him. Fucking spook."

My stomach turned over and I lost my pineapple upside-down cake all over his shoes. He jerked back, the rag stained red. "Oh hell. What the fuck did you do to her?"

"Nothing, I just—"

"What do you mean nothing? You rammed her with a fucking truck. If she has a concussion bad enough to cause vomiting she won't be able to do her job and we all die." Alvarez pulled a gun and pointed it at the stammering man. Ready to kill him in cold blood. "You fucking useless piece of—"

"Stop!"

Joe's voice. Thin, but just strong enough to echo through the warehouse.

Alvarez paused with his finger still on the trigger. Cut a glance toward the sound out of the side of his eye. "Why?"

"Because I can't let you kill him. Your man didn't do that," Joe said. I could hear the pain. He was barely clinging to consciousness. "She was already sick."

Alvarez shifted. Enough that I could see Joe tied to a big blue barrel. He was slumped. Face bloody. Most of it was from a big gash under his hairline on the left side, but there were other cuts too. Shallow ones that added to the horror show. "Sick with what?" Alvarez wanted to know. "I didn't hear of her looking sick at the funeral home."

Joe didn't answer right away. Didn't want to say it out loud to a man like Alvarez. Alvarez's grip tightened again, ready to shoot. I heard it when Joe groaned his resignation. "It's morning sickness. She's pregnant."

The warehouse went dead still. So quiet that I knew Alvarez had stopped breathing. I could practically hear the whirl of thoughts clicking through the gears in his head. From the look on his face, I was betting there were a lot of swear words involved. He turned toward Joe very slowly. The words burning the tip of his tongue. "Tell me it's yours."

"Wish I could."

"Fuck." Alvarez dropped his arms to his side. Ran a frantic hand through his dark hair. "Fuck!"

"Boss, we can still use her. This is even better than just having his girl."

"You don't fucking understand. I ran this scenario from every angle to get the right outcome, but I never factored that as a possibility. Ranger is a stone cold bastard. There was only one thing that was going to lead him here so I could put him down. One person he'd be willing to trade his life for. I was supposed to have his girl at gunpoint. Wide awake and unharmed so that he could see the fear in her eyes and lose his focus just enough to make a mistake. But I don't have his girl. I have his whole fucking family. There's no telling how that'll affect him."

"You said you wanted him off balance."

"Fucking. Moron. If seeing her all cut up would make him homicidal, what the fuck do you think will happen when he finds out you ran a fucking truck into his pregnant girlfriend?"

The guy swallowed loud enough to fill the silence.

My phone chirped near Alvarez and his face folded. Like the sound was causing him pain. He pulled it out of his back pocket and his jaw tightened when he saw the display. "Fuck." He tried to regain his composure. Drew in a deep breath to steady his voice before he answered. "I've got your woman."

"Do you have any fucking idea what you've gotten yourself into?" Ranger asked him. I could barely hear him from the floor, but I recognized the cold steel in his voice. Steady. Overly controlled. It wasn't something I heard very often. Sent a shiver down my spine.

From the look on Alvarez, it sent one down his spine too.

"I know your woman is pregnant," he tried.

Ranger didn't answer right away. Made Alvarez very nervous. He shifted on his feet while he listened to the silence. Waiting to read Ranger's reaction. When Ranger spoke again, it was with the same steady, unrushed control. "Let her go now and I won't put a bullet in your head."

"Oh no. She's the only thing standing between me and getting murdered by Zetas in federal prison."

"You'd better pray you end up in federal prison, because if she isn't returned to me in the exact condition she left in, I'll put you in the ground myself. That's a promise."

Alvarez yanked the phone away from his ear and disconnected. Let loose a whispered storm of curses so creative it was an art form. He called Ranger back. "I don't want to hurt your woman or your child. I just don't want to fucking die. Let's make a deal."

Ranger ignored him. "Let me talk to Stephanie."

Alvarez wasn't happy. In any way. Put the phone on speaker and lowered it to me. I glared daggers at him. It was the only thing I could think of to keep the squishy feeling in my stomach from making me sick again. "I'm here."

"Are you hurt?"

"I can't tell. I've got some cuts from the crash. And I'm sore. Beyond that I don't know."

Alvarez lifted the phone again. "She's not damaged. How long she stays that way is up to you."

"You know how this plays out."

"Doesn't have to. You come and meet me alone and we'll talk about this like men."

"You mean you want me to walk like a lamb to the slaughter into the middle of your heavily guarded warehouse on the seventh block of Stark."

I saw it when Alvarez lost his color. "You're outside."

"Yeah, I'm outside. With not just my own men, but SWAT and the whole Trenton Police Department. You're surrounded on all sides, and thanks to my men getting here first, you've already lost your perimeter. Surrender now and you'll all get bracelets and nice, comfy cells. But if I have to walk into that building and take back what's mine, you won't like how it ends."

Alvarez really wanted to swear again. I could tell. "If anyone but you walks into this building, I'll blow her godamn brains out. I swear it."

"You and I both know you're not going to take that risk now. Not with your only insurance policy. You're a smart man, but in the end you're a runner, not a fighter. And this time there's nowhere to run. Your safest choice is the give yourself up and take your chances in prison. Because if by some miracle you manage to slip through the ever tightening net we've got waiting for you and something happens to her, it'll be down to you and me. And you don't want that."

Alvarez cut his eyes around the warehouse. Maybe looking for a possible escape. Then his expression shuttered. "Guess we're about to find out."

ooo

Ranger

The call dropped again, and this time the worm didn't call back. Shit. Hard way it is. He'd known there was a chance Alvarez wouldn't take the easy out. Wasn't willing to admit to himself that he was out of options. That was fine. He could be in denial all he wanted, as long as he understood the consequences. And judging from the near panic in his voice, Ranger was pretty sure he did.

He turned to Carson. "He'll be looking for an exit or a place to make a stand. Stephanie has a GPS unit on her. It says she's in the center of the warehouse. According to Hector's intel, there should be between eight and twelve men inside."

Carson nodded. Gave the orders. They all got into position. Then they switched to night vision and cut the power, plunging the warehouse into darkness.

They cut through the black with precision. A team of three leading them in close formation. Cleared the hallway and the front offices. Took down two bangers when they crossed into the warehouse. The muzzle flashes filling the room like lightening.

Tank's voice was in his ear. "Steph's on the move. Into what looks from the blueprints to be the supervisor's office. Straight ahead and up the stairs."

"Copy."

Ranger stayed in formation until they reached the warehouse center. A half dozen men were standing in a cluster around a figure tied to a big industrial barrel. Head hanging limp over his chest, legs sprawled out in front of him. Morelli. Hard to tell if he was conscious. The men around him opened fire, shooting blindly into the darkness before they broke for cover. Ranger cut right. Took down two more men with shots to the leg and shoulder. Disarmed them before he left them behind and went for the stairs.

The door ahead of him was open an inch.

So Alvarez would hear him coming.

He could see a single heat signature through the inferred. A big target. The silence that came from the room beyond was profound. And then he heard Steph breathing. Uneven and scared. Muffled by the hand over her face. He was using her as a shield.

Ranger kicked the door open and stood to the side, half a clip emptying into the void from Morelli's Glock 19. Then Alvarez froze. Must have realized he wasn't hitting anything. "Shit! Fucking ghost. Why won't you just die already?"

"Let her go. It's over."

"It's over when I fucking say it's over!"

Alvarez fired three rounds into the wall where Ranger had been standing. Didn't realize he'd moved. Ranger could see them standing on the left side of the office, partially obscured by the door. "Last chance."

Four more bullets cut through the wood frame to follow the sound of his voice. One bullet left. Ranger stood in the open doorway, but this time Alvarez put the gun to the side of Steph's head. "I know you're counting too. If I'm gonna die I'm using my last shot to take her with me."

"If you want to die now you'd better use it yourself, because I promise you there are a lot of things worse than death."

Alvarez swung his arm toward the sound of Ranger's voice. Steph panicked. Grabbed onto his hand and bit hard. He yelped and shoved her away. Left him open for Ranger to take the shot. Alvarez's knees buckled. Then he slumped to the floor.

Ranger was at Steph's side before he hit the ground. Gathered her up in his arms. "Babe. Are you with me?"

"Yes. But there's a very good chance I might throw up again."

The vice around his heart eased. Letting her light slice through his darkness. There was a call sign in his ear. The building was cleared. He acknowledged that and muted his com. Held her close until the lights came on again.

She was covered in blood. Most of it from shallow cuts and scrapes. There were a few that might need attention, but that wasn't what had him worried. He brushed a gentle touch along her neck. "Where does it hurt?"

"All over."

"Can you stand?"

She tried to nod and grimaced. Might have had whiplash. "Let's get you to a hospital. There are a few ambulances waiting outside. Medics are already on their way into the building."

"Joe."

"They're loading him up now. I'll have Tank keep us updated on his condition until you've been checked out." Ranger didn't give her a chance to protest. Just scooped her up into his arms. She didn't seem to mind. Slung her arms around his shoulders and pressed her face into his neck. He couldn't help but hold her tight.

Just like he couldn't help praying there wasn't any serious damage.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Steph

Most of the hospital experience was kind of a blur after the adrenaline burned off and the fatigue set in. I remembered Ranger making a call as he carried me to the Cayenne. Remembered the brief surprise when the obstetrician from Ranger's private practice met us at St. Francis. Apparently he had privileges at several local hospitals due to the whole baby delivering thing. After that it was tests and machines and god knows what else. It felt like there wasn't a part of me Dr. Weston didn't eye suspiciously under Ranger's orders.

Whiplash and a mild concussion to go with the various cuts I got from the windows exploding. Some minor bruises across my chest and hips from the seatbelt. All in all, it could have been worse.

Ranger was right there with me when Dr. Weston did another ultrasound. His warm, strong hand wrapped around mine. The doctor had asked me questions, but in all honestly I was too busy watching the monitor to answer. Trying to see if there was anything different from yesterday. It wasn't until Ranger's hand squeezed mine and the doctor smiled that the sound turned back up on my life. "Junior's looking just fine. Still perfect." I let out the breath I'd been holding and his smile widened. "I thought we agreed no more explosions."

"It wasn't an explosion, it was a car crash, and it wasn't my fault."

The doctor cut an amused look at Ranger that I was pretty sure was mirrored back to him. I think they might have been trying not to laugh at me.

A nurse helped me ice my neck while Ranger talked to another doctor in the hall and did some more paperwork. He was in a better mood when he came back into the room. "Nollen's awake."

"Is he okay?"

"He will be. The impact broke his arm in two places. Couple ribs."

"Omigod."

"Babe. It's not as grizzly as it sounds. It was a clean break in his left humerus along with a hairline fracture. They've already set it and put on a cast. The ribs will have to heal on their own. He'll be on a desk for a couple months until he can requalify for active duty. After the week he's had, he actually seemed good with that."

The mental head slap was so strong it became an actual head slap. This time, I was pretty sure it was at least partially my fault. Ranger shook his head just a little. One corner of his mouth twitching.

"You didn't ask to get kidnapped, Babe. And Nollen understood the dangers when he took the job. Just like Morelli when he volunteered to step in as backup."

Damn. He was still reading minds.

It felt weird talking about Morelli with Ranger now that the thing between us was more real. If he was bothered by it, though, he hid it well. I bit my lip. "How is he?"

"Better than Nollen. He has some facial lacerations and a concussion. A lot of bruising all down his left side. But all in all he's fairing pretty well. Tank told me a few minutes ago that he's been moved out of the ICU to a private room. They want to keep him overnight for observation. I figured as soon as they were done with you here we'd go see him."

"I'd like that."

A kind looking nurse with dark hair and a reddish beard was checking Joe's vitals when we got there. I hesitated in the doorway until he saw me. Waved me in with a reassuring smile. "It's alright. I'm about done here. Are you family?"

"Friend."

The nurse nodded. "Well, go easy on him," he said, looking over my shoulder at Ranger. "He needs as much rest as he can get."

"Sure."

The nurse made a couple notes on the whiteboard near the door and gave me a smile before he left. Joe looked pretty good, if you didn't count the bruises and the bandage on his forehead. He might have even been happy to see me until Ranger followed me into the room. Joe got a serious case of cop face when he saw him. A painful reminder of just how uncomfortable this situation was.

Ranger tipped his head to acknowledge Joe. Joe returned it. No love between them. Surprise, surprise. I felt Ranger's hand touch the small of my back, his chest brushing my shoulder. "I've got a few more things to sort out with Nollen. You alright here on your own for a few minutes?"

"Yes. I'm fine."

We both knew he didn't have to go. But he also knew I needed to talk to Joe, and Joe wasn't about to relax with Ranger standing over me. Ranger kissed my head and stepped out into the hallway. Joe staring at me with that blank expression.

And then he softened.

"Good to see you standing," he said to me.

"It's just a little whiplash."

The corner of his mouth lifted. "Well, if it's just a little whiplash. How's the rest of you?"

"The doctor said the rest of me is good too."

Joe tried to smile, but I could see that it was a little bitter.

"How are you feeling?" I asked him.

"Like I was hit by a truck."

I knew he was joking, but that didn't ease the guilt. "I'm sorry."

"Cupcake, you got nothing to be sorry for."

"What about…"

"Yeah, okay. Maybe that." Joe cut his eyes to the doorway behind me. Watched it long enough that I wasn't sure if he was avoiding looking at me or making sure Ranger wasn't listening. "You know. I hate to admit it. But that man will go through a hellova lot to protect you. Like, walk through fire kind of protecting."

"He takes my safety very seriously."

"Cupcake, that's an understatement." He let his eyes move to me again. Looked me over like he thought he might see something different than normal. "I hear he put one between the asshole's eyes."

I just shrugged. Ranger hadn't shared a lot of details. And I didn't really want to know enough to ask. Joe seemed to sense that and moved on. "So. What are you going to do now?"

"Same ol', same ol' I guess."

"You know that's not what I meant."

I did know that. He wanted to know what I was going to do about Ranger. And to be honest, I didn't actually know yet. It had been a little over a day since I'd found out I was pregnant. I'd seen the fuzzy lump twice on the ultrasound monitor. Had a printout picture of it in my bag. And it still felt like it wasn't really happening. And Ranger. He'd gone a complete 180 on the whole relationship and babies thing. Something I never expected. Sometimes he even seemed excited about it. And here I was, still waiting for it all to finally sink in.

I shrugged. "I think he wanted me to stay with him a couple more days until I was feeling better. Make sure there isn't any backlash from the gangs."

"There won't be. You won't even be on their radar. Gangs are vicious under a lot of circumstances, but they got no reason to target you without Alvarez. And there's no way in hell they'll try and go after Ranger again."

That was probably true. If there's any way to confirm rumors you're the boogeyman…

"So, you're gonna keep living with Ranger?"

"No. Not for more than a day or two, anyway. Then I figure I'll go home to my apartment."

"Good to know I'm not the only one you move out on. You put any thought yet into what I said at the funeral home?"

"Do I have to decide right now?"

"No, Steph. You don't have to decide right now. But the longer you wait the harder it might be. Ranger can be diplomatic when it suits his needs, but he's pretty territorial. Not to mention crazy."

"He's not crazy. He's actually pretty levelheaded and reasonable most of the time." I had a feeling the territorial part was dead on, though. "I just don't want to take any big steps right now."

Joe seemed to get that. One big, life altering change was more than enough for one week.

I felt the change in air pressure before Ranger appeared in the doorway. "Babe. The doctor would like to see you one last time before I take you home. Should only take a few minutes."

I gave Joe what I hoped was a friendly smile and followed Ranger to the hallway. He pressed a kiss to my forehead. "Go on. I'll be right behind you."

Uh-oh. I had to wonder for a second if this was going to be a line in the sand kind of conversation. Ranger smiled when he saw my concern. "Babe."

I took that to mean _don't worry._ At least, I hoped that's what it meant. It was probably a safe bet that things wouldn't come to blows in the middle of a hospital with Morelli that injured.

Right?

Pretty sure Ranger was thinking about laughing at me. He lifted my chin and brushed a light kiss to my lips. Turned me toward the ER and pushed me along with a soft pat on my butt.

Guess I was just going to have to trust him.

ooo

Ranger

He watched Steph walk down the hall until she disappeared through the door beside the nurses' station. The smile lingering. She'd been nervous about him talking to Morelli. Like it was possible for things to get out of hand under the circumstances. Morelli was the one with the short fuse. The only one to ever throw the first punch or raise his voice or make threats.

Didn't mean that Ranger couldn't still hurt him. The way things were playing out, Ranger could do a lot more damage with words than he could his fists.

Something he would try at all costs to avoid, for Steph's sake.

He was careful to pull back all traces of emotion from his expression before he stepped into Morelli's room. Morelli couldn't hide his surprise entirely. Just like he couldn't hide the flare of resentment. Or anger. All of which was very much justified.

For a long moment all they could do was stare each other down. Two posturing alphas ready to lock jaws over the same female.

"Is this the part where you tell me to back off or else?"

"No. I think Stephanie is more than capable of knowing her own mind. And I'm not going to let anyone force her into those decisions. But. It might be fair to warn you."

Morelli straightened in his bed like he'd been threatened. "Yeah? Warn me of what exactly?"

"That I'm done sitting on the sidelines. This wasn't a situation any of us would have chosen, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't something I wanted."

"You wanted to get my girlfriend pregnant?"

"The pregnancy was the unintentional result of a couple missed birth control pills. It's not something I would have ever done on purpose. Having a child with Stephanie, though. That's something I've come to realize I want very much."

"I have trouble believing that. You played with her every chance you got, don't think I didn't see it. Pulled her in and messed with her head only to push her away again. I really don't understand why you would do this to her. Why would you let her believe you're gonna stick around and be a good guy?"

"Because I love her."

Morelli's eyebrows shot up before he could stop them. Clearly not the answer he was expecting. "Are you even capable of love?"

"Apparently. Whether I deserve it is debatable. But I definitely feel it for her. And the life we created."

Morelli didn't seem to have an answer for that. He just held Ranger's eyes for a long moment. Like he thought he'd see something there that would contradict what Ranger was saying. He didn't. "Why are you telling me this? Aren't you supposed to be the man of mystery? Since when do you do heart to hearts with the enemy?"

"This isn't a heart to heart. This is an acknowledgement that you're an important person in Stephanie's life. And for the record, I've never seen you as the enemy. We may have had opposing goals when it came to her sex life, but you and I have been partners for a long time on the things that mattered. I don't see that changing, no matter who she wants in her bed."

"Is that your way of saying let the best man win?"

"Not even close. As far as I'm concerned, she's mine until she says otherwise. And even if that was the choice she made, we'd still be sharing a child. A child I have no desire to relinquish to you or anyone else. What I am saying is that if you could respect the personal and professional relationships I had with her while you were together, I can do the same."

"That's very big of you."

"Your sarcasm doesn't make me mean it any less."

Morelli's jaw tightened. Struggling for control. "You know she still loves me."

"I know."

"And she's planning to leave you and go back to her place as soon as she possibly can."

"I know that too."

"Good."

ooo

Steph

Ranger was still in a decent mood when he drove me back to Rangeman. I took that as a sign that there hadn't been a big fight or anything between him and Morelli. Though, I guess I'd have to see Morelli's face to know for sure.

Ranger set his keys and his gun in the silver tray on the sideboard. Caught my fingers and led me into the kitchen so he could get an icepack out of the freezer. He wrapped it in a towel and helped me settle it on my neck. Led me into the bedroom. Gave me a full body massage that left me so relaxed I was purring.

For a big, scary, street hardened, ex-special forces mercenary, Ranger can be surprisingly tender. I was still wrapped up in his arms when the alarm went off the next morning. He turned it off and gathered me close. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore. But otherwise pretty good."

"Good to hear." He kissed my shoulder. Brushed an even gentler kiss to my neck. "You're cleared to take Mini in when you're ready, now that Alvarez is out of the picture. Just call down to holding and Brett with bring her up for you. He'll even go with you, if you'd like."

"I'll be okay on my own. I don't think she'll try to run again."

Ranger acknowledged that. Pressed a kiss to my throat, his hands starting to wander. "The car I arraigned for you isn't ready yet. You can take the Cayenne for now. What were you planning to do with the rest of your day?"

"Figured I'd go to the bonds office. It's probably safe now, right?"

"Should be. We took down enough of Alvarez's men to put a sizable dent in all the gangs involved. I got reports this morning that Delgado and Cruz are pulling back to lick their wounds. Don't have any plans for retribution."

He rolled me onto my back and moved over me. Taking extra care while he drove me crazy. I was very satisfied when he was done. He kissed me softly and went to take a shower and get ready for work. I lay in his bed with absolute contentment for a while before I did the same. Letting myself wonder for a brief second if this was something I could get used to.

Mini didn't give me any trouble at all when I brought her in. She knew Vinnie would be there to bond her out again, and that Thatch's lawyer would be able to handle the charges. All in all, she didn't seem upset at me anymore for dragging her into Rangeman. She'd been safe. Like I'd promised. Made her pretty happy that I'd been able to keep my word.

Connie was sitting at her desk when I brought in the body receipt, Lula leaning on the edge with a doughnut in her hand, her tiny poison green dress barely covering her doodah the way she was sitting. She waved me over. "What's this I hear about you livin' with Ranger?"

"I'm not living with Ranger. I'm just staying with him for a couple days."

"Mmm-hmm."

"What? I've stayed with Ranger before. It's not a big deal."

"So you telling me you're not takin' full advantage of the perks of residency?" Lula wanted to know. I didn't say anything, but I must not have needed to. She looked me over and grinned. "Oh, girl, that's what I'm talkin' about! You got your bell rung real good, didn't you?"

It was hard to keep the dopey smile inside considering I'd had my bell rung that very morning. "I'm not one to kiss and tell."

"That's because you're a classy lady, like me. In fact if I was you, I wouldn't be so hasty to vacate a situation like that. I'd be keepin' him real happy and see how long it takes him to say something about wantin' his space back. Cause you know even a lone wolf likes getting his itches scratched, if you know what I'm sayin'."

I knew what she was saying. And I wasn't going there. I didn't want to bring up that Ranger had invited me to stay indefinitely, or why. I'd already blown the secret with Morelli and my entire family. I felt it might be smart to wait a while before I told Lula and Connie. "Got anything new?"

"Nothing good," Connie answered. "It's been a slow week. All you've got left is the wife beater, Earl Belter. Good thing you still got something left over from The Rug. It should keep you in the black for a while, even if things don't pick up."

That was true. Especially since Ranger seemed pretty serious about the whole financial support thing. I had a feeling that even if I never got another skip my rent would still be paid in full.

Though, thanks to a tip, I did take down Earl Belter. He wasn't worth all that much, but it did feel pretty satisfying to zap him with my stun gun.

I drove Morelli home from the hospital then next day. Made sure he was comfortable. Then I went to pack up the stuff I'd brought to Rangeman.

Things had actually been pretty good with Ranger. Great, in fact. I just didn't want to push my luck. In my experience cohabitation had a tendency to go south eventually. I didn't want to take that chance with what was going on between us. Ranger and I had lived together before on a few occasions and it was always pretty comfortable. But aside from Hawaii, we'd never had a physical relationship any of those times. Or the added pressure of eventual responsibility. Seemed smart this time to take things slow. Get used to the idea before we made any major commitments like moving in together.

Though, I did 'accidently' leave some of my clothes in his closet. And I wasn't all that surprised after a week or two to find some of his in mine. More than just socks and underwear.

Guess that made us a couple.

I could be okay with that.

* * *

ooo

 _Okay guys. This story isn't done yet, but I'm gonna have to take a break._

 _I'll return soon with new chapters of Proof Positive as soon as I can._

 _In the meantime, enjoy my other stories_

 _or my original titles MEREDITH'S FIRE_

 _or HEAT OF WINTER._

 _And keep your eyes open for the next update!_


	15. Chapter 15

AU of Notorious 19, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Fifteen

Steph

seven weeks later

Normally sitting on Stark Street in the middle of summer would be a miserable prospect. But I'll be honest, I'd sort of been living just outside of normal the last seven weeks. For months, Vinnie had been signing mostly low bonds, which meant I was barely making pizza money. And yet my rent was paid in full, my refrigerator had actual food in it, and I was currently sitting beside Lula in the crisp and cool airconditioned interior of a Mercedes Benz LE instead of a rusty bargain basement crapwagon I'd barely scraped together enough money to afford.

And those things didn't even merit mention in the top tier of the not normal layer cake. At the top, it was a tossup between the fact there was a human being the size of a kumquat growing inside me and the fact that I was in what seemed like a relationship with a man who didn't do relationships.

"See, this is what I'm talkin' bout. This here is a much nicer way to track down that loser ass Melvin Barrel. You shoulda got down with Ranger a long time ago. You had this car for weeks now, and he hasn't so much as batted an eye."

Actually, the eye batting would have come from me not driving the car. It was sort of a prerequisite condition of my incubating his offspring. But so far I'd been too chicken to tell that to Lula. "Ranger lets me drive his cars all the time."

"Yeah, but usually you either give 'em back or blow 'em up. I ain't never seen one last this long. This one's gotta have magical powers or something."

"Not all of my cars blow up."

"I guess that's true. Sometimes they get stolen. Or shot to hell. Or die on the freeway. And then there was that one that blew up and then got smashed by a garbage truck. That was my favorite."

That was everyone's favorite.

Something caught Lula's attention. "Look at this fool coming at us, walking down the middle of the street. What the heck is he doing?"

The fool was a skinny guy in baggy jeans and a wife beater T-shirt, jogging down the middle of the road in his $700 basketball shoes. He kept darting his eyes over his shoulder. Running from something or someone. And then he spotted me and Lula just sitting there on the side of the road in my fancy black Mercedes. He ran for us, grabbed the driver's side door handle and yanked. Cripes. Thank god for automatic door locks. He yelled something and pressed a massive gun to my driver's side window.

"What did he say?" Lula wanted to know.

"He wants us to get out of the car."

"That don't sound like a real good idea to me."

"I agree. Let's get out of here."

I turned the key to start up the engine and the guy got mad. Unloaded three rounds right at my face. They made big white dimples and ricocheted off, cutting into him. He fell onto his back and didn't move again.

We got out of the car and leaned over him. He was statue still. "You killed him," Lula told me.

"I didn't kill him. I didn't do anything."

"He tried to shoot you and ended up shooting hisself on account of your windows. Since when are your windows bulletproof, anyway? Did you know your windows were bulletproof?"

I'd sort of had an inkling.

The guy groaned. Bleeding a little bit from nicks on his face and shoulder. Must of just passed out from shock. "Looks like he's good. We should probably go now."

Lula nodded in agreement. We hurried to get back in the car, but a black Cadillac Escalade came whipping around the corner, scaring the bejeezus out of me. Lula and I jumped back to keep from getting run over. If they saw us, they didn't care. Two idiots in gang colors hopped out and scooped up the skinny guy, tossing him into the back seat. A yellow Hummer squealed around the other corner a second later and skidded to a stop a half block from the Escalade. Two guys leaned out the windows and opened fire. The Escalade returned it. Bullets clipped macadam and metal from both sides.

Then a guy wearing a crooked ballcap popped out of the Hummer's moonroof with an RPG and took aim at the Escalade.

Oh yeah. This is what normal feels like.

Lula and I dove for cover when the rocket went wide, punching right into my shiny and perfect SUV in a fiery explosion.

The gang bangers stared at the expensive orange fireball in shock, and then vanished into their respective cars and peeled away before a high-level dealer could take retribution. I sat on the curb. The heat from the fire only slightly hotter than the August sun.

Lula was hardly ruffled beside me, her fire engine red do still straightened out to boar bristle, not a hair out of place. "Huhn. Mighta been bulletproof, but I'm guessing it wasn't rocketproof."

My cellphone rang. I knew from the ringtone that it was Ranger. I answered. "You're off the grid."

"Someone blew up my car."

Moment of silence. "Babe, that was an armor-plated SUV. Foreign dignitaries use them in war zones."

"Well, apparently they never tested it on Stark Street."

"I'll be sure to tell that to the manufacturer. Just to remind you, you have a doctor's appointment in less than an hour. Is it safe to assume you need a ride?"

"Yes please."

Another pause. This time I think he might have been smiling. "Babe." And then he disconnected.

"Is he coming for us?" Lula asked.

"Yep."

"Is it okay if we wait in that sad-ass grocery store across the street? I'm parched. I need me a soda after all this excitement."

I wasn't about to argue with that.

We were standing side by side on the curb when Ranger pulled up, sucking on our soda straws. He took a long look at the hollowed-out shell still dripping red-orange flames on the macadam before he turned to me, somewhere between grim and amused. "You have some scary talents, Babe."

"Just shut up and drive."

ooo

We dropped Lula back at the bonds office and drove to the Obstetrician, which was housed in the same medical practice as Ranger's private physician. There was a chance the Cayenne's GPS marker would show up on the fleet monitor, but so far Tank was the only one of Ranger's Merry Men that knew I was pregnant. If anyone on the control desk noticed, they would think we were just there for a followup on my injuries from the car accident. Fine by me. I wasn't eager for people to know. The list of people that knew already included Ranger, Tank, Joe Morelli, and my parents, sister and grandmother. That was too many people already.

The nurses gave me a second look when I walked into the office. If I was to guess, it was probably the soot from the burning car.

Do I make a good impression or what?

We weren't in a room long before Dr. Weston showed up, all smiles. "There wasn't another car explosion, was there?"

"It wasn't my fault."

Dr. Weston's smile turned bemused, looking to Ranger. Maybe waiting for the punchline. "Steph and cars have a colorful history."

"Are you saying there really was another explosion?"

"I wasn't as close to it this time," I assured him, "if that makes a difference."

His eyes moved from me to Ranger and back again. Might have been a little speechless. Can't say I blame him. He recovered pretty quickly. "Guess we should see what we've got. Lay back and unbutton your pants."

I did as I was told. Little squirt of warm jelly later and we were looking at a monitor again. He moved the device around, taking the occasional picture. It was a lot easier to read this time. Way more than a fuzzy white lump. In fact, it was almost person shaped in a big headed alien sort of way. "It looks like a gummy bear."

"Babe," Ranger said, his voice just short of laughter.

"What, it does!"

"Actually, I've got a nurse that says that too. Everything looks good," the doctor said. "Baby's about the size of a plum now. Fingers, toes, ears, the whole nine yards. You see that flutter?" he said, pointing at the screen. "That's baby's heartbeat."

I'd read in my sister's baby books that the heart started beating at nine weeks, but it was something else to see it with my own eyes. The doctor was amused. Turned a dial and the room filled with a wubbing sound, like running on a flat tire but faster. Matched the flutter on the screen. "That's him?"

"Well. It's too early to tell if it's a him or her, but yep. Healthy and swimming free. And very active, it seems. This one's gonna be trouble."

"Let's just hope the trouble is somewhere below exploding cars," Ranger said. Smartass. If it wasn't for the affection in his voice I might have smacked him.

Dr. Weston ordered a bunch of routine blood tests and gave us some ultrasound printouts. A half hour later we were in the Cayenne again, driving back to the bonds office. Ranger docked at the curb behind a big, shiny, familiar looking black SUV. "What's that?"

"Mark 2."

I swung a look at him, all squinty-eyed. "You had a backup just sitting around?"

"Babe, you've managed to destroy my cars in a matter of hours before. I count myself fortunate the first one lasted this long."

"It wasn't my fault!"

"I know, that's the best part."

I was working my way toward fuming when he grabbed hold of my wrist and hauled me across the console and into his lap. The kiss melted any hormone fueled tirade I might have managed. My whole body heated up, tingling to my toes when his tongue touched mine, his hand under my shirt. He stroked me through my bra a second and then moved down. Caressing the swell that was only just starting to show. He brushed his lips softly over mine, pulling back enough to smile.

"I don't care when you destroy the cars I give you. As long as they're doing their job and keeping you safe, they've served honorably and deserve a soldier's funeral."

"Ha ha. Aren't you ever put out that they're so expensive? They have to cost an arm and a leg."

"Not the way the deal is written. Most of the extra cost covers disposal, and every penny comes out of the tax-deductible entertainment budget. My men would be pretty upset if you stopped destroying cars. The pool is their favorite pastime."

"I don't like being entertainment."

It was supposed to be a grousing grumble, but I couldn't help it when a single tear popped out of my eye. Jeez! Stupid pregnancy hormones.

Ranger isn't a guy who could ever be describe as soft, but when he saw the tear a few of his hard corners wore away. He kissed my nose. "You're not just entertainment, Steph."

"Then why am I a line item in your entertainment budget?"

"Not every cost associated with you comes from that budget. Just the cars."

"And the rest of me?"

"Well. I'd have to talk to my business manager if you wanted an itemized list, but as far as your medical and housing expenses, I pay for those out of pocket."

"Omigod. You're paying my rent with your own personal money?"

"Babe, I can't really justify you as a business expense." His hand was still on my bump, fingers tucked into the already tightening waistband of my pants. Made me warm. "Which reminds me. I need you to be my date for a black-tie event tomorrow in Atlantic City."

"Jeez, tomorrow? That's pretty last minute. I'd need to make a hair appointment and find a dress…"

"What about that slinky black dress? The one that puts thoughts in a man's head."

"Sure, if you want every person at this event to know that I'm pregnant. That dress hides nothing."

"Mmm. I'm getting ideas already." He kissed me again, shifting. For a wild second I thought he might be getting frisky, but instead he came up with a shiny black credit card. "Get what you need and I'll come to pick you up at 6. Dinner's at 8. And incase you're tempted to opt out, know that I don't just need you to keep me company and handle small talk. I need someone to watch my back. Without you I'm down to bringing Tank, and Tank would be a controversial date."

"Very true. Plus I don't think he'd look that good in a dress."

That earned me a full-on Ranger smile.

I slipped out of Ranger's car and made my way into the bonds office. Everything in the office was pristine and new since the renovations were completed, giving it that fresh feel and new paint smell of a model home. I wasn't with Vinnie when he started the bonds office, but I was betting it never looked this good. Connie was at her desk in front of Vinnie's office, her red heels up on the corner at the end of her dark stockinged legs. Looking like the mob daughter equivalent of Betty Boop. Lula was in her usual spot on the faux leather sofa, donut in hand. "Ranger had one of his guys drop off a brand new mega bucks Mercedes for you while the two of you were off having a nooner. I swear, that thing looks so much like the one that got fireballed that I might start believing in ghosts."

"You do believe in ghosts," Connie pointed out.

"Yeah, but that's like the oooooo kinda ghosts. See that there makes sense. I'm talking about the ghost of Chrysler past. Or like one of them clone movies. I swear, Ranger's got some kinda magic to make these cars appear outta nowhere."

"I hate to burst your bubble, but it's not magic. It's just good planning," I told her.

"Are you saying The Wizard ain't magic?"

Oh boy, I wasn't going there. Ranger was magic in ways that good Catholic girls didn't talk about in public. Not that I was a good Catholic girl, considering I'd had to squeeze into my jeans this morning because of an unwed baby bump. It was just that Ranger's magic wasn't something I thought needed saying out loud. "Did anything new come in this morning? Melvin Barrel was a bust."

"I've got a high bond that's causing some concern. You remember Geoffrey Cubbin?"

"The guy who embezzled all that money from the retirement home?"

"That's the one. He had emergency surgery for a burst appendix two days ago and vanished from the hospital. He's not technically FTA until he misses his court date on Monday, but considering there's no sign of him Vinnie's not happy. He signed the high bond because Cubbin seemed like such a low flight risk. He had a wife, a home, a cat. Usually guys with cats aren't runners."

"I'll see what I can do. He vanished from St. Francis?"

"Central."

I looked at Lula, but she was already shaking her head. "Uhn-uhn. Don't even ask if I'll go with. You know I hate hospitals. They got cooties. You walk into a hospital there's a good change you ain't walkin out."

"It's not that bad. And don't you want to ride in the new Mercedes? See if there's anything different from the first one? Ranger called it Mark 2. It could be tricked out like James Bond. It could have rocket launchers."

"You really think you can bribe me into going to a cootie factory with hypothetical rocket launchers? You must think I'm real gullible."

I just smiled. Dangling the keys Connie had given me.

"Okay, fine. But I get to push all the buttons."

ooo

Central was located on Joy street, which I'd always thought was pretty ironic since it didn't have a stellar reputation for quality care. If you had a heart attack in the streets of Trenton, you were better off dragging yourself into the vicinity of St. Francis than you were letting an ambulance take you to Central. I used the cheap but official looking laminated Bond Enforcement ID I'd purchased on the internet to badge my way into the head of securities office so I could ask a few questions. Found myself face to face with none other than Randy Briggs, the three-foot-tall pain-in-the-ass. Apparently, he'd threatened his way into the job with the promise of a discrimination law suit. Randy wasn't afraid of playing the short card.

Turned out Cubbin wasn't the only patient to disappear from Central. He was just the only one to do so since Randy took the job. I didn't get a lot of helpful information. Cubbin was there are 2am when the night nurse checked on him. By the time she'd made the rounds again at 6, Cubbin and all his personal effects were gone. No witnesses. That surprised me. It's not easy moving around after an emergency appendectomy. You'd figure at least one person would have seen a man waddling out the door all hunched over and moaning.

I called Connie and asked her to track down the doctor that performed the surgery. She gave me the office address for a private practice physician with privileges at both Central and St. Francis. Went by the name of Dr. Fish.

He wasn't all that helpful either.

I came back out to Lula where she was waiting in the Mercedes and blew out a sigh. "I came up empty. Cubbin isn't scheduled for any follow-up appointments."

"I can't say as I blame him. He already had to spend all that time in the hospital. I was only there for an hour and I was already feeling weak. I had to stop over for a donut."

"Did you get me one?"

"Yeah, a Boston Cream. It's right…" she looked down into the bag. "What the heck? There used to be donuts in here."

"I think you ate them. You have powdered sugar and jelly stains on your tank top."

"I musta blacked out. I was only gonna eat two and next thing I knew the whole bag was empty. I guess that's just a well. You probly didn't want to eat a donut anyway on account of your getting a little tummy. I mean, you got a long way before you get to being a big beautiful woman like Lula, but you definitely on your way."

"Jeez. It's not that bad."

"I didn't say it was bad. It's a cute little tummy. Almost like you're pregnant. You got you a donut baby."

"Jeez Louis. Let's just go. I promised my mom I'd stop by tonight for dinner, and I wanted to ask Grandma what she knew about the retirement home Cubbin embezzled from. Grandma knows everything when it comes to gossip. She's tapping into the blue-haired network."

"That sounds like a real pleasant evening. You be sure to tell your Granny I said hi. I love your Granny. She's a real hoot."


	16. Chapter 16

AU of Notorious 19, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Sixteen

I said goodbye to Lula at the bonds office and drove down Hamilton, praying that a visit to my parents' house would be worth the migraine I would have later. It wasn't that I didn't like spending time with my parents. It's just my mother was convinced that, given my condition, I should be looking to acquire a husband as soon as humanly possible. A conversation whose only consistent outcome was giving me hives.

Grandma was standing on the porch when I parked in the driveway. She waved to me with a wide smile, the waddle underneath her arm waving too. "How was the prenatal appointment? Did you bring any pictures of my new great grandbaby?"

"Not so loud. You promised to keep it a secret until I was ready."

"Not to worry. I've been real good. Kept it real hush hush. The ladies down at the beauty parlor aren't gonna need curlers when I finally let it spill. We're gonna make a big splash."

"As long as that splashing doesn't happen prematurely."

"Speaking of which, any idea when the big announcement'll be?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"Should be soon. You're already startin to show. Right now you just look like you're getting fat, but pretty soon there won't be any mistaking it."

"I'll keep that in mind," I said, giving her the ultrasound photos from my bag.

My father was sitting in his favorite chair in front of the television while my mother fried chicken in the kitchen. I chose to sit with my father rather than wander into the line of fire. There was an unspoken rule in the Plum house that TV time wasn't conversation time. Sitting in front of the television was right up there with claiming sanctuary. At least until the meal started.

I finally had to give it up when it came time to set the table.

My mother's eyes dropped to my belly and then strayed to the kitchen counter to her glass of 'iced tea'. She sighed and opened the dish cupboard. "Are we expecting anyone else for dinner tonight? Should we be setting an extra place?"

"Nope. It's just me."

"When you were seeing Joseph he used to come to dinner every week."

"I'm not seeing Joe anymore."

"But you are seeing _someone_. Not that anyone would know, since he never comes to dinner."

Maybe he was trying to avoid marriage by pot roast. "Ranger works a lot."

"You'd think he'd make time for the family of the woman he's starting a family with. How often does he go home to his own mother's house?"

"I'm not sure."

"Not sure? Haven't you ever asked her?"

"Actually, we've never met."

"Never… you're in a family way and he hasn't even taken you home to meet his family? When does he expect you to meet them, at the wedding?"

"We've discussed this. We don't have plans to get married anytime soon." Or ever. Ranger can't even make plans for a black-tie event more than a day in advance. "What do you know about the retirement home Geoffrey Cubbin embezzled from?" I asked Grandma in a not so subtle change of subject.

"Oh, I know lots about that, on account of Lorraine Moochy has a relative there. Lorraine said Cubbin is gonna need a lot of doctors if those people get their hands on him."

"What else does Lorraine say?"

"She said he seemed like a real nice man, and then next thing he stole all the money. Cranberry Manor's one of them places you buy into, and it isn't cheap. Top of the line, considering it's in Jersey. Lorraine says it could close down, and her relative would have her keester tossed out onto the street."

"Boy. That's unfortunate. And there hasn't been any word about Cubbin, he hasn't been seen anywhere?"

"Nope. And that's what makes a real humdinger of a case. He just up and got dressed in the middle of the night and walked out. If you ask me it's real fishy, and I don't mean because his doctor was named Fish. And I know they've had budget cuts down there and there aren't hardly any nurses working the floors, but it's hard to believe he could just walk out with all them stitches and hail a cab. Seems to me he would need to have help."

"That's what I think too. It was just that when I went to the hospital it was kind of a dead end."

"I could always poke around for you. Myra and I go to Central once a week for lunch. I'm real good at being nosey and I'm thinking of turning professional. Could be I could find you a lead."

"Don't you dare encourage her," my mother warned. "If she causes problems you can kiss chocolate cake goodbye for the rest of your life. Pineapple upside-down cake too."

"Cripes, I'm not encouraging. Look at me not encouraging. And are you telling me you wouldn't make me pineapple upside-down cake even if I got a craving? What if the baby really wants pineapple upside-down cake?"

My mother got a very torn look. Trying to sort through the dueling instincts of trying to keep me in line and spoiling her grandchildren.

I didn't envy her. It looked complicated.

I left for the night relatively unscathed and carrying a big bag of leftovers.

Then I had a momentary pang that felt uncomfortably like regret.

Fried chicken was Morelli's favorite. I hadn't seen much of Joe since the whole Alvarez thing. He'd taken a few days sick leave to recuperate and then he'd gone right back to work. Cleaning up the residual gang mess from the streets of Trenton. And even though I was pretty busy myself with work and Ranger and incubating a person, it was kind of hard not to admit to myself that I missed him. Joe was comfortable and cuddly, and he had Bob. I really missed Bob. I missed the easy rhythm Joe and I had. Grab a pizza, watch the game, fool around a little. Ranger and I hadn't really found a rhythm yet. We were still working on seeing each other more than a couple nights a week.

After some very hardball and tough arguing with myself I let the Mercedes steer me down Slater and park in Joe's driveway. The moment the door opened I was bowled over by a prehistoric red-gold puff of hair and drool. Joe had to wrangle him back by the collar. "Sorry. He's a maniac when he hasn't seen you in a while. Are you okay?"

"Aside from the drool?"

"What can I say, you have that effect on us."

I caught the flirty half-smile. Made my stomach squishy. "My mom made fried chicken."

"Ooh, I love your mom's fried chicken. Please tell me the bag means you came over to share."

"It's your lucky night."

"My favorite kinda night. You wanna come in? The Mets are up by two runs."

"I shouldn't. I really just came to share the chicken."

"Cupcake, you never just drop by to share chicken."

"Well maybe there isn't room in my fridge, did you think of that? Maybe fried chicken isn't agreeing with me lately."

"Like a food aversion?" I raised an eyebrow and he shrugged. "I mighta read some things on the internet since you told me. That and I remember when my sister was pregnant. She couldn't be in the same room with fish while it was cooking. When it was raw, fine. And she could eat it after, but during…"

We lapsed into an awkward silence. He'd done research. That was touching in a strange kind of way. We shifted on our feet a little and Morelli cleared his throat.

"So, what's going on with you lately? You know aside from… you know."

"Same old same old I guess. I am looking for Geoffrey Cubbin. He disappeared from Central a few days ago."

"Yeah, I heard about that, but I don't know much. It's not my case. Lenny Schmidt caught that one."

"Do you think Lenny's looked to see if a cab picked him up?"

"Hard to say. I could ask next time I see him, but I doubt Schmidt's done much to find Cubbin. Schmidt's got a full caseload, and Cubbin hasn't even missed his court date yet. At this point it's more your problem than his."

"Well, if you hear anything you can always call me. You have my number."

"Oh I've had more than your number. Okay, level with me. Did you really just come by to give me fried chicken and chocolate cake?"

"And to see Bob. But you can forget about the chocolate cake. I'm keeping that."

Morelli chuckled. But his eyes were sad. "You look good."

"I don't look like I'm getting fat?"

"Not nearly. And if you ever miss Bob again, you know where to find us."

There was a pain in my chest that I was pretty sure was heartburn. At least, that's what I told myself. I gave Morelli the bag of leftovers, leaned down and gave Bob a big hug around his wholly mammoth neck, ruffled the fur on top of his head, and gave Morelli a smile. And then I walked back toward my Mercedes and left for home.

ooo

Lula and Connie were in their usual spots when I got to the bonds office the next morning. Vinnie's office door was closed, but I could smell cigar smoke the second I walked in. "Is that her?" he yelled through the door. I heard the scraping of his desk chair and then the door flew open. Vinnie had a cigar in his mouth, his weasel body poured into a shiny shirt and too pointy shoes. "Why haven't you found Cubbin yet?"

"Jeez, haven't you ever heard of second hand smoke? That's a health risk you know."

"You know what's a health risk? Losing a high stakes bondee because I hired an ex underwear buyer to catch felons. Just because you're boffing Ranger now doesn't mean you don't have to do your job. In fact, why don't you trade in some sexual favors and get _him_ the track down Cubbin for you? Then at least I'd know he'd be found."

"Do you really want me to tell him you said that?"

Vinnie turned two shades whiter. "Crap. I never said that. Nobody said that."

"You're afraid of Ranger," Lula said.

"Of course I'm afraid of Ranger. Ranger makes Rambo look like a grandma in a knitting circle. Just find Cubbin before I have to close up shop and you all end up out on your asses. Stephanie might be okay until the Ranger thing fizzles out, but you two would be back to walking the street or doing wet work."

"I could do wet work," Lula said, "only I'm not a fan of dead bodies. If I was makin' 'em I'd have to get outta there real quick."

"You couldn't make a dead body if you tried. You're a terrible shot."

"Your ass. I've got a Glock in my purse. Wanna find out right now?"

Vinnie tossed his hands up and shook his head, retreating back into his office with an air of disgust. "Just find him!" he shouted through his door.

"Was is something I said?" Lula asked.

I grinned at her. "I'm going to talk to Cubbin's wife and then I thought I'd check out Cranberry Manor. You wanna ride along."

"You bet. Now that you mention it, I do feel my health is suffering from all that nasty cigar smoke. I think I might be getting some emphysema. I need some fresh air, and maybe one of them breakfast sandwich from McDonalds. And maybe some hash browns. And a Cinnabon."

"That _does_ sound much healthier," I said. Though underneath the sarcasm I was thinking those things actually sounded pretty perfect.

A McDonald's breakfast sandwich, hash brown and Cinnabon later, we were in Hamilton Township at a modest white ranch with black shutters and a forest green front door, white Camry in the driveway. Lula took it upon herself to peek in some windows while I knocked on the front door. Mrs. Susan Cubbin was a shortish white woman with fried blonde hair, an extra 40 lbs, and a spray tan that was a touch too close to tangerine. Cigarette dangling from her mouth. She hadn't seen her husband either. A fact she was sort of put out by, considering he'd left her with a mortgage she couldn't afford, a house even the bank didn't want, and eight years worth of miserable marriage. Susan Cubbin was even more determined to find her embezzling husband than I was. Mostly because she knew finding him could come with a 5 million dollar pay day.

A cop car angled to a stop behind the Mercedes and two guys got out. One of them was Carl Constanza. I'd known Carl for a bunch of years. We'd made first communion together, among other things. I'm not sure I would have called us friends exactly, but we were friendly enough that he never hesitated to laugh at me when I ended up rolling in garbage and I never really took offense. Constanza and his partner stood hands on hips looking at my Mercedes, then looked at me, sizing up the situation. I gave them a little fingerwave and they walked over. "This one of Ranger's cars?"

"It's not borrowed or stolen, if that's what you mean."

"He gave it to you?"

"It's planned in his budget that I destroy at least six cars a year as entertainment for his men. I'm just trying to do my part."

"We got a report from a neighbor that a woman was acting suspicious. Creeping through the bushes around this house."

"That might be Lula."

"Who's Lula?" Susan Cubbin wanted to know.

"She's my partner."

"Why is she creeping around in my bushes?"

"She saw a cat and took off after it. She's a real cat lover."

"Oh jeez, don't tell me my cat got out again. Did you see it? What color was it?"

"I'm not sure. Hey Lula!"

Lula's head stuck out around the corner. "Yeah?"

"What color was the cat you're chasing?"

"Say what?"

"The cat. That ran into the bushes you were searching through?"

"Oh, right. The cat. It was white."

"Oh good," Susan said. "My Fluffy is orange."

"Well, that solves that," Carl said.

"If you hear anything from your husband I'd appreciate a call," I told Susan.

"Likewise."

We followed Carl and his partner to the curb. "So was he in there?" Carl asked Lula.

"Who, the big white cat?"

"Sure."

"Not that I could see. But you know how cats are."

Carl gave us a look and shook his head. Then we all got into our cars and drove away. "So did you see anything useful while you were snooping?"

"I didn't see signs of Cubbin, but I saw a suitcase on the bed. Someone's been packing."

"Men's clothes or women's?"

"Looked like women's, so that might not be all that helpful. So what now?"

"Now we see Cranberry manor. And then I've got to go to the mall and get a dress for a thing with Ranger tonight."

"Ooh, what kinda thing we talkin' about? Are we talking see through? Are we talking crotchless?"

"Eew, no. We're going to something fancy in Atlantic City and none of my fancy dresses fit."

"On account of the donut baby, go on."

"Sheesh. Forget it."

"Naw, I'm taking this real serious. You wanna know how to maximize your wardrobe for a voluptuous body, you come to Lula. I know how to accentuate your assets. I know how to find you a dress that'll not only have men looking twice, it'll make 'em flock to give you even more donuts to increase your voluptuousness."

"I don't need men to give me donuts. I just need a dress."

"Well, if you wanna be boring about it I guess we can be boring. But don't worry. I'll find you a dress that'll make the Man of Mystery wanna know where all the secrets are."

ooo

Lula ended up being way more helpful than I was expecting. The dress we found was black and backless, with a square neck that made my boobs look great and a slit that came halfway up my thigh, distracting from the not exactly flat tummy. I thought maybe I would wear the black heels I already owned, but Lula got excited when she saw the shiny black Ranger card and talked me into a pair of ultra-sexy red soled Louboutin shoes. I nearly gagged when the clerk rung them up. "Holy cats," I whispered to Lula. "These shoes are a thousand dollars!"

"And? Did Ranger give you a budget? Or did he give you an unlimited credit card that you drove over here in your mega bucks Mercedes with the bulletproof windows?"

She had a point. "Ranger and I haven't been together that long. I'm not even sure we're all that _together_. What if I'm uncomfortable spending a thousand of his dollars on a pair of shoes?"

"You could always call and ask him. Or we could head our asses over to Tiffany's and see if that card really doesn't have a limit."

I was saved from having to make that decision when my phone rang. Unknown number. Oh boy. I had mixed experiences with those. I answered. "Hello?"

"I got your granny, and I'm turning her over to the police if you don't get her out of here in the next ten minutes."

"Who is this?"

"Randy Briggs, who the hell do you think it is? And you should be glad that I'm head of security here, anybody else would have just called the cops. Now are you coming or what?"

"Let me talk to her."

"Shit. I'm not going near her. She'll try to bite me again."

"Okay, just hang on. I'm at Quakerbridge. I can be there in fifteen."

"Hurry."

I disconnected and bit my tongue to resist the urge to swear. I didn't feel it was a classy thing to do in front of the thousand-dollar shoes. "We have to go. Somehow Grandma got herself down to Central and caused a scene."

"What about the shoes?" Lula wanted to know.

I blew out a sigh. "Fine. Put them on the card."

ooo

Grandma was handcuffed to a chair in Randy's office when we got there. Dressed in black pilates pants, a hot pink tank top, and a Marilyn Monroe wig that was tipped enough to one side to show a ring of gray hair around her temple. She was probably going for sex kitten, but what she managed was more saggy sex doll with half the air leaked out.

Randy was fuming. His sandy blond hair mussed to match the bruise developing on one side of his face. "She's a menace. She set off the fire alarm and tried to break into the patient records on the nurses' station computer."

"Would done it too until short stuff here came along. I was real close to getting the goods."

"How did you even get here?" I wanted to know.

"I had Myra drop me off. I woulda asked you for a ride, only I wanted you to have plausible deniability in case your mother found out. I didn't want you to get cut off from dessert on my account, in case you needed some for your… sweet tooth," she said, winking like she had an eye twitch. Cripes. How she'd managed to not spill the beans already was one of life's mysteries.

"I really appreciate you not calling the police," I said to Briggs.

"Oh I would have, believe me. It's just that I didn't want it all over the news that I had to tackle an 80lbs old lady. Can you imagine the headlines? Snow White and the Security Dwarf. Or Granny vs Goliath Jr. This job is already hard enough without being a laughingstock."

"Well, I appreciate it all the same. If you'll uncuff her I'll get her out of your hair."

Briggs tossed me the keys. "You do it. I'm not going near her. Old lady bites still hurt, even after their teeth fall out."

ooo

I got Grandma out of Briggs' office and herded her down the elevator to where Lula was waiting in the Mercedes. "So did you get anything?" Lula asked as soon as we were buckled.

"I sure did. I got the name of the night nurse that was checking on Cubbin. Norma Kruger. Overheard it from a group a nurses in the lunchroom. I know all about her from my other visits. She's a favorite topic when it comes to gossip, since she really gets around, if you know what I mean. Rumor has it she disappears into the broom closet with some of the doctors, and she's got herself some new boobs, though there's lots of doubt about how she could afford it when all her money goes up her nose."

"Did anybody talk about Cubbin?" I asked her.

"Nope. But there was some talk about the others that have up and vanished. One about a year ago. Another just after that. I was gonna get their names for you, but Half-Pint interrupted me."

"You shouldn't have bit him."

"I'm an old lady, I have a right to defend myself. He's just lucky we went down too fast for me to get my gun."

I dropped Lula at the bonds office and Grandma at the beauty parlor. She needed to get a new set so my mother wouldn't see that she had wig hair. Then I drove home to start the arduous and lengthy ritual of getting ready. By the time six o'clock rolled around, I had my hair pinned up in a fancy bun and my makeup was light but classy. I heard Ranger let himself in while I was still trying to zip myself into my new dress. It had to be my imagination, but I could have swore the tummy was fitting tighter than it had this afternoon. Ranger paused in my bedroom doorway, taking it all in. And then I felt his energy enter my field of gravity from behind. His fingers skating down my spine and caressing my waist before he inched the zipper closed, laying a hot but gentle kiss on my bare shoulder. "I like this dress. I'm sure I'll spend the whole night thinking about it on the floor."

I turned to face him. He was in a black tux that added some oh-my-god to his already dangerous good looks. I'd seen Ranger in a lot of different kinds of clothes, and I'd seen him a bunch without any clothes at all, but I was still stunned. His hot black eyes searing down my body.

It was hard to believe this man was even on the spectrum of being mine. If anyone had suggested six months ago that I would be having a baby with Ranger, I'd've wet my pants on the spot. I was still pretty freaked out about it if I thought too hard. Which meant when he pulled me close, those strong, gentle hands taking a familiar hold on my body, pressing me against him in all the right places, his kiss managed to light up every one of my high points and some of my alarm bells too. My hands unbuttoned his jacket all on their own and slid inside, feeling every one of his hard muscles. He pulled me closer to pin them there. The breath on my ear was somewhere between chuckle and groan. "Don't tempt me. We don't have time, and all the efforts you've made to look this flawless would be undone."

I couldn't help the impulse to kiss his neck just above the collar of his black tuxedo shirt. "Guess it's a good thing I didn't put on any lipstick."

His hands slid down to my ass, pining me against the hardest part of him. "I said don't tempt me. Now put on those Louboutin shoes so we can go."

I froze, total deer in the headlights. "They were Lula's idea."

Ranger leaned over just enough to flick the lid off the box without letting me go. Then those carnivorous eyes ran the length of my body again, ending at my toes. "Remind me to thank Lula later."


	17. Chapter 17

AU of Notorious 19, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Seventeen

Ranger

Watching Stephanie lean down to put on the sexy pair of thousand dollar shoes made it very hard not to fantasize about the possibilities. His favorite of which was bending her over the end of the bed in nothing else, the four inch heels raising her ass high in the air as he took her from behind, his fingers digging into her hips, hers knotted in the bedsheets. She rose up to standing again and it tested his control not to sweep her up and drop her onto the bed with him on top of her.

Business first.

Sliding his hands into her skirt would just have to wait until later.

Ranger ushered her into the elevator and down to the parking lot where his 911 Turbo was waiting. He opened her door and watched her angle in. Then he went around to his side and started for Atlantic City.

He waited until they were near before he broke the companionable silence.

"The event we're going to is an awards dinner for a man who's been very active in the Atlantic City community. The man we're there to watch in named Robert Kinsey. He's one of the speakers. He owns an electrical supply company in White Horse. Lives in Hamilton Township."

"Client?"

"Friend."

"I didn't know you had friends."

He suppressed a Steph-like urge to roll his eyes. "Cute."

"So not only do you have a friend, but he's the sort of guy who speaks at awards ceremonies."

"He's marrying Amanda Olesen. Her father is getting the award."

"That explains everything."

The sarcasm was cute too, but it was also the Steph version of a furious _go on_ gesture. She wanted the whole story.

He'd always resisted giving Steph too much of a peek into his past. Mostly because it wouldn't sit well with her. She was the kind of girl who was afraid of her own gun because she understood just how dangerous it was. Ranger was dangerous too. Something she knew all too well. For a long time it had been the reason she kept him at arms length. The reason she'd been able to resist the searing attraction between them. And it was the reason he'd let her. Because letting her in opened up the chance that she'd run away from him and never come back.

And now she was having his baby.

Ranger had no doubt that if it weren't for the pregnancy, she would have put distance between them again. Gone back to Morelli where things were easy. Morelli was an open book. They'd know each other their whole lives. Steph wasn't comfortable with secrets and Ranger was secrets personified. But, whether it was good for her or not, she was in his life now. And she had grown over the last few years. Faced men like Alvarez without once backing down or turning tail to run.

That and the way things were playing out, it wasn't like he could keep the details from her this time around. She was his partner, in every sense of the word. She needed to understand what they were dealing with.

Time to see just how much of his truth she was willing to handle.

"Kinsey and I were in the middle east together. Part of a small handpicked unit of specialists. Kinsey and I bailed when our tour of duty was up, but most of our unit went career. Three weeks ago, we started getting cryptic threats through the mail, all ending with a code known only to our unit."

"I don't suppose it could be some sort of joke."

"The unit wasn't made up of a bunch of guys with senses of humor. If they said they were going to blow up a building or wipe out a terrorist cell you knew they would do it. The threats have been vague so far. Come off as the ranting lone wolf sort of lunacy. If it weren't for the code I wouldn't be taking it seriously, but if it's from any one of those men? Let's just say they're capable of doing just about anything. At least they were when I knew them."

"And you were handpicked for that?"

"I was in the unit. I fit the profile."

Steph wrapped her head around that for a second. Maybe trying to keep her brain from filling in the blanks. "Have any of the others received threats?"

"None that we've been told about."

"Will they be here tonight?"

"None of them were invited." Ranger pulled into the casino garage and parked by the walkway that lead into the building. Looked Steph over one last time. She was stunning. The little black dress leaving little to the imagination. Which meant he knew with certainty that it didn't hide a gun. He looked at the tiny evening purse. "Should I take an educated guess that you don't have a gun with you?"

She flushed. Something she usually only did after sex. "I didn't think about it."

Of course not. The only time Steph thought about her gun was when she was figuring out how fast she could get it back in her cookie jar. He unlocked the box under his front seat and selected the smallest pistol. "See if this fits. It's a Ruger .38 with a trace laser. It carries six plus one round."

It took some maneuvering and dumping out the contents of her purse, but she managed to get it inside. She was far from trembling, but she wasn't her normal delightful self either. "This is serious, isn't it?"

"It could be. So far it's just annoying."

Ranger angled out the car and opened her door for her, lifting her out. Let his touch linger at her back on the way into the building. They found the private hall on the second floor. Checked in like the other guests. He did a quick scan of the room. Twelve tables of eight. Some guest already seated in their assigned place. Most were clustered on the open floor, drinking Champagne and eating hors d'oeuvres from the circulating silver trays. No one stood out. No tightened body language or darting eyes. No determined glares. Just a lot of relaxed, happy people enjoying the social event.

Steph declined the flute of Champagne offered her by a passing waiter, but she went after the croquetas with a vengeance. She didn't pass up a single appetizer on their way to Kinsey, entirely focused on the cocktail sausages and tiny meatballs. "Are you recognizing anyone?" she asked suddenly.

Guess the food didn't have all her attention. "No one from the unit."

"These little meatball things are amazing."

He suppressed a chuckle, leaning close enough for their bodies to touch. "Might want to slow down. Dinner's in twenty minutes and you don't want to eat yourself sick."

"Oh relax," she said around a mouthful. "I'm officially in the second trimester. The morning sickness is all gone. Now I'm just hungry all the time."

"And that's different from normal?"

She caught him with an elbow to the ribs and he expelled a breath, but it was more a laugh than anything. He brushed a quick kiss over her shoulder and lead her over to Kinsey.

Robert Kinsey had been Ranger's favorite when they'd been overseas. A good man to have watching your back, and one of the better shooters he'd come across during his military career. Some of Kinsey's edges had worn away since becoming a civilian. He was still fit. Could have probably run a course as well as any of Ranger's men, but he'd rounded out a little when he met Amanda. Matching her softness. One might have thought it was just her cooking, but it was more than that. They had a matching glow too. Love and devotion at its most sincere.

Ranger was as heartened by this as he was surprised. He and Kinsey had been through the same shit. Incurred the same damage when their moral codes were in conflict with their duty. And yet Kinsey had been able to find peace. At least enough to earn the love of woman who brought out his better nature.

Kinsey smiled when Ranger introduced him to Steph. Clearly not at ease in the rented tux. "This is a nightmare. I hate this stuff. And my wedding is going to be even worse. If I can get through the wedding I'm home free."

"Are you having a big wedding?" Steph asked him.

"Ten bridesmaids. Is that big?"

"It's a village," Ranger told him.

Amanda crossed the room to join them, folding an arm with her fiancé's. Her pretty, wholesome face beaming. Steph let out a sigh neither Amanda nor Kinsey seemed to notice. Ranger looked at her. She was wearing her overthinking face again. Ranger had gotten to know it pretty well over the years. It was the face she wore when she was struggling with the duality of her love life.

Ranger had no delusions about how tentative his hold was on Stephanie Plum. Steph was fierce and independent. Qualities he greatly admired. But they also made her a flight risk, as demonstrated repeatedly by Morelli during their four year relationship. Morelli had never learned how not to push her. It had been nearly three months since she and Ranger started a regular pattern of sexual encounters. Nearly two since they'd become official. And yet she still hesitated to use the labels she'd seemed so interested in. It could have been that terms like boyfriend and girlfriend were too pedestrian for what was between them. But it just as likely that the idea of him still scared the shit out of her.

She felt his eyes and swung a look up to him. "What?"

"You just grunted and rolled your eyes."

"Heartburn."

"Of course." Yep. Scared shitless.

It was a good thing he was made of patience.

They took their seats at 8 o'clock. One table from their mark with a clear view of both Kinsey and every exit. Steph knew him well enough to interpret their placement. Knew he was sitting with his back to the wall out of more than just healthy paranoia. "You think something bad will happen tonight, don't you?"

"I'm just being cautious, Babe."

"That's more than I can say for the guy next to me. I just sat down and he has his hand on my leg, inching up my shirt."

Living the dream.

Ranger peered around her to see what lecherous daredevil was taking the fate of his nutsack in his own hands. The guy was just shy of crypt keeper. Ranger would have bet a thousand bucks that he was senile, but the way those rheumy eyes were fixed on her breasts there was a good chance he had just enough mind left to know what he was doing. "Want me to shoot him?"

"Maybe later."

Cute. She'd grimaced like he was serious.

She turned a stern countenance onto the drooling centenarian. "Excuse me. Your hand is on my leg."

"What?"

"Your hand. It's on my leg, and I'd like it removed."

"Can't hear you," he said. "Got a hearing problem in that ear."

Well shit. Not that senile after all.

Steph tried the woman next to him. "Are you with this guy?"

"I'm his wife."

"He has his hand on my leg."

"Better you than me," the wife replied, helping herself to a roll.

Steph took a spoon from the table and gave him a school marm rap across his knuckles. Pleased with herself when the hand withdrew. "Problem solved."

"Too bad. I haven't shot anyone all day. I was hoping for later."

She flashed him a stink eye she didn't mean. "Tell me about the cryptic messages."

"Not a lot to them. Just a few words scrawled on plain white paper. Things like _Your death won't come easy_ , and _I will grant you salvation through pain_. The last message received just said _It will start soon_."

"That's creepy. Have you reported this to the police?"

"Not yet. No real crime has been committed."

Her face shuttered and she went stiff. The hand was back on her leg. This time with what must have been walking fingers, considering the guy what singing _Itsy Bitsy Spider_. "Your wish is going to come true. Shoot him."

Ranger had to hold in his laugh when he pushed back from the table. "Switch seats with me." Ranger held out his chair for her and settled next to the lecherous drooler. Lucky for the drooler, he quickly lost interest in _Itsy Bitsy Spider_.

The meal was served with efficiency. Waiters moving from one table to the next with their prearranged trays of prearranged plates. Ranger watched the entrances while Steph watched Kinsey. Barely picking at her meal. "Waiting for dessert?"

"You might have been right. I might have had too many hors d'oeuvres. I might also have a new aversion to mashed potatoes. My mom's were okay, but these are off putting. There must be something in them that's offending that olfactory sensitivity you told me about."

"The super smeller strikes again."

His eyes pulled to Kinsey and Amanda. Their plates were clean. Amanda leaning toward Kinsey with a little crease between her brows. Kinsey wasn't sitting right.

"Does Kinsey have high blood pressure?" Steph asked him. "He's sweating, and his face is the color of pinot noir."

"Stay here," Ranger said, scraping his chair back. "Keep your eye on the room."

It only took Ranger a few steps to reach Kinsey, but in that time his friend had slumped over in his chair and turned white. Ranger got him to his feet and out a side door without much notice. Amanda right behind them. Kinsey was pale as death and half green. Clutching his stomach like it was trying to escape. His knees buckled the moment they hit the lobby and Amanda gasped.

Ranger put a hand on her elbow to get her focused. "Is there a doctor on premises?"

"Y—yes. He's. Part of the venue staff. Should I go—"

"Yes."

Amanda found a member of staff and a moment later a white-haired man in a suit came out of the hall. He knelt beside Kinsey, trying to discern his symptoms through the jaw clenching pain.

Steph came out of the hall. "What's wrong?"

"Stomach cramps and nausea," Ranger told her.

Her eyes were the size of quarters while she watched Kinsey panting on the ground. She looked a little faint herself. Kinsey lost the battle to keep his stomach and Steph turned green, running for the bathroom. For a fraction of a second Ranger wanted to follow her. But with his charge in the fetal position, he didn't have much choice but to trust Steph to handle herself.

The ambulance arrived in six. The gurney in eight. The pair of paramedics rolled Kinsey onto the spineboard and lifted him onto the gurney. Strapping him down. Steph came back a minute later looking like she'd horked up her hors d'oeuvres. "How's he doing?"

"They're taking him to the hospital to run some tests. The house doctor thinks it might be appendicitis. How about you?"

"I'm okay now."

"Babe, you're almost as white as Kinsey."

"It might have been sympathetic. He was down, and then there was the smell and…"

She turned green again. Guess the morning sickness wasn't as gone as she thought it was.

"Come on. We'll follow them to the hospital."

They took the elevator down with Kinsey and then separated to go to the parking garage. Ranger froze when they reach the 911. There were two symbols spray painted on the side of his car. Symbols he knew terrifyingly well.

"What's that?" Steph wanted to know.

"It's the insignia from my unit. And that's the sign for poison."

"Oh boy. That can't be good." She'd bent at the waist, hands on hips like she was going to be sick again.

Fuck. "Babe, you and I switched places. You got the food that was meant for me. If I'm reading this right, both Kinsey's plate and yours might have been poisoned."

"Omigod. Are you sure? I don't want to be poisoned."

"How are you feeling? Any stomach cramps or nausea?"

"I didn't have any stomach cramps until you said I might have been poisoned!"

"And the nausea?"

"Okay, I did throw up, but I'd like to see you watch a big strong ex-special forces guy curled up and vomiting without the cocktail weenies trying to resurface. The baby makes me throw up when I'm nervous." And then her eyes went round and she lost the rest of her color. "Oh god. The baby. If I'm poisoned the baby would be poisoned too. What'll happen to him if we're poisoned?"

He caught her when her knees went soft, holding her tight against him, her arms around his neck. "Deep breaths, Babe. If you have a panic attack it'll make it harder to get you in the car, and we need to get you to the hospital."

"I t-told you the p-potatoes smelled funny," she bawled into his shoulder. "I d-didn't even taste them and they s-st-still made me sick!"

"You didn't eat them?"

Steph snuffled once and pulled back to look in his eyes, the puzzle distracting the primal fear. "No. I had some of the steak and a couple beans, but… the potatoes smelled kind of chemically and I didn't want them."

"Did anything else you ate smell funny?"

She thought about that, and then shook her head.

"How are you feeling now?"

"Freaked out!"

"But not sick?"

She thought about that too and the fear eased a little more despite the tears. "Does that mean I'm not poisoned?"

God, he hoped so. "There's only one way to know for sure. Let's get you in the car."

Ranger didn't take any chances, cutting his high powered sports car through the Atlantic City streets. They were still unloading Kinsey when he whipped the Turbo into the emergency bay and collected Steph from the passenger seat. She wasn't green anymore. Wasn't vomiting. Able to stand on her own. He took that as a good sign. He found Amanda's father standing near the ambulance. "I have reason to believe Kinsey might have been poisoned. Make sure the medical staff knowns so they can respond accordingly while they rule out appendicitis." He turned to Stephanie. Kissing her forehead. "Let them do all the tests they need, but make sure they know you're pregnant. I'm heading back to the casino to see if I can find the source."

"Good luck."

Ranger paused just long enough to kiss her, and then he was back in the Turbo, speeding off into the night.

ooo

Steph

Hanging out in a hospital waiting room isn't pleasant at the best of times, but at least I wasn't vomiting. The nausea had pretty much gone away once I'd let myself believe that I wasn't really poisoned. I talked to some admitting nurses, an intern, and eventually a resident, giving them all the readings and blood tests they wanted. They even listened to the baby's heartbeat to make sure it was normal. Didn't take them long to give me the okay. Ranger was a sight for sore eyes when he walked through the ER doors again. "You're looking better."

"The doctor said I wasn't poisoned."

"Good thing the Batbaby gave you superpowers. How's Kinsey?"

"He seems like he's going to be okay. Amanda came out to check on me a few times. Kept me updated. She says they want to keep Kinsey overnight as a precaution. Did you find anything at the casino?"

"I talked to the waiter who served both you and Kinsey, as well as the head of staff in the kitchens. Your plate had already been cleared away, so I wasn't able to get a sample, but I was told both Kinsey's place and mine had been flagged with an allergy marker."

"How did that happen? Didn't anyone see it?"

"I was in the kitchens, the place is a zoo and they have no reason to have security. Unless someone were 7ft tall or wearing a red clown nose, no one would have noticed them. Nearly anyone in a chef's coat or a waiter's uniform could have gained access."

"And poisoned the mashed potatoes."

"That's the theory."

"So what do we do now?"

"I can take you home if you like. There's nothing more we can do tonight."

"Yes, I'm definitely ready to go home, I'm exhausted."

Ranger picked up the red soled shoes and pulled me to my feet, wrapping his arms around me. Kissed me soft and sexy. "It's not the mark of a good date when you end up in the ER."

I shrugged. "Could have been worse. I could have been poisoned."

"True."

"Or _you_ could have been poisoned."

"Also true," he said, leading me toward the ER doors, his hand in mine. "I've never had the pleasure, but it doesn't look fun. I should have considered poisoning a possibility. Usually when threats come from the lone wolf lunatic type, it's more direct and overt."

"And you're sure that no one else in your unit are receiving threats?"

Ranger waited until we were out in the night air to answer. The 911 on the curb. He opened my door for me and then angled in. Putting the car in gear. Eyes on the road. "There were seven of us. One was killed in the line of duty after Kinsey and I left the service. Two are out of the country on assignment. The other two are on the West Coast. Everyone claims not to have shared the code with anyone. And so far, Kinsey and I are the only ones receiving messages."

"Something in there isn't adding up."

"I agree. But since the postmarks on the letters have all reached a dead end, there's not much to do right now but wait and hope for something else to break. If we're very lucky, there will be some evidence of a very rare and traceable poison in the casino's kitchen."

"Do you think that's likely?"

"No. But when you're involved anything's possible."


	18. Chapter 18

AU of Notorious 19, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Eighteen

I might have dozed a few times on the drive home, wrapped in the intimate silence that always surrounded Ranger. He parked in the back of my lot beside the Mercedes and opened my door for me, offering a hand. He scooped me up against him to nuzzle my cheek. "Are you awake enough to walk or would you prefer I carry you?"

"Whatever makes you happy."

A glint of humor lit his eyes. Ranger whisked me off the ground like I weighted nothing.

He waited until the elevator doors close us in before he let me slide down his body to the floor and pressed my back to the cool rolled steel. He always tasted incredible, but the sudden intensity and the way he was pinning me to his groin had my happy places warming up the Hallelujah chorus. I was so focused on his tongue in my mouth that I didn't know we'd reached our floor until the doors opened behind me. If it weren't for Ranger's strength and control, I'd've spilled out on the carpet for sure.

The corner of his mouth twitched. Ranger thought I was amusing.

He let us into my apartment and bolted the door. Taking a moment to read the silence. Must have decided there were no psycho-killers or knife wielding madmen hiding in my apartment. He moved into my kitchen and set my shoes on the counter, my keys next to the shoes. "Are you hungry?"

"Do you mean for food?" I asked him. I caught the heat in his dark eyes when he cut me a look. "I'm just making sure, because the way you kissed me it didn't seem like food was very high on your priority list."

Ranger caught my hand and pulled me between him and the counter, gathering me into him. "My priorities include keeping you happy. And since you lost most of your dinner at the casino, it seemed like a good idea to feed you before I moved down the list."

Knowing that he would put my needs ahead of his was as big a turn on as the feel of him pressing into my stomach. And the swell of love that had filled my chest. "It's not food I'm hungry for right now."

His warm brown eyes were already dilated, but at the whisper they went full black. A touch of wicked crooked up the corner of his smile. He kissed me again, and this time his clever fingers found my zipper, stroking my bare back before he slid down my spine and under my waistband, cupping bare ass. It took me a second to get his bowtie undone and his perfectly tailored tuxedo coat open. He shrugged out of it and tossed it on the counter too. Lifting me up onto the edge beside it. His mouth searching my neck and down my chest while he pulled the dress off my shoulders, exposing my pretty black lace bra. He showed his appreciation for it for a moment, and then it was gone too, his mouth on bare nipple. His strong hands pushed up under my skirt and took hold of my underwear, inching them down my thighs.

I'd barely managed to get his black tuxedo shirt open before he wrapped my legs around his waist and sank into me. I dug my fingers into the hard muscles at the small of his back. Trying not to bite his mocha shoulder. His mouth found mine again with a half groan when I failed, and everything after that was blinding white light.

I was leaning limp across his shoulders when we were done, trying to find my breath. His even, despite his pounding heart. He held me close. His mouth brushing over me at his leisure. "So. Would you like feeding now, or do you want to move this to the bedroom?"

"Definitely bedroom."

He chuckled silently in my ear as he brushed it with a soft kiss. "Bring the shoes."

ooo

Normally it would take a team of wild horses to drag me out of bed before 7:45 am, but there were mornings when Ranger slept over that it was worth getting up at the crack of dawn just for the shower. Ranger was very good in the shower. After some high quality passion both in the shower and once more on my bed, Ranger got dressed in one of the spare Rangeman uniforms he kept in my closet, kissed me, and left for work. And I was left with a relaxed post orgasm glow and a permanent smile.

Lula and Connie were drinking coffee over a donut box when I walked into the bonds office. They gave me a thorough scan, nodding their approval. "Girl, I was gonna ask how your date went last night, but I don't even need to. That glow you got says it all. I told you I'd get you sorted out right. Does Lula know how to wardrobe or does Lula know how to wardrobe."

"I'm not sure you can take credit. She always glows like that after a night with Ranger."

"Yeah, but this here's a special glow, I can tell. And I think Stephanie should spill us every detail. I've got an active fantasy life, but I got a feeling it don't do Ranger justice."

"I agree," Connie said. "You should spill. I want to live vicariously."

"Gee, I don't think I'm comfortable with that. It seems like it would be really personal."

"Like the _best-sex-of-your-life_ smile ain't personal?"

Damn smile.

"Okay just tell me this. It was the dress, wasn't it?"

"He definitely liked the dress. But he said he should thank you for picking out the shoes. He… _really_ liked the shoes."

That got a big reaction. Lula's eyes half glazed and she nearly fell off the couch, and Connie slumped back in her chair fanning herself with a file folder. Neither looked capable of intelligent speech.

"Anything new?"

Connie just handed me the file in her hand and picked up another one so she could continue fanning. I opened the file and skimmed it a little to let them get a hold of themselves. After all, I couldn't really blame them. Ranger was sort of my boyfriend and even I still had my moments.

"This says Brody Logan was arrested for taking a hammer to a police car, but it doesn't mention a home address."

"Doesn't have one," Connie managed. "He's homeless. Usually hangs around Third Street and Freemont. Sleeps under the bridge abutment with a bunch of other homeless people."

My eyebrows shot up. "Vinnie bonded out a homeless person? How is this guy supposed to pay for his bond?"

"Apparently he has some sort of religious artifact that's worth a lot of money and he used it as collateral. Except Vinnie failed to collect it when he bonded him out."

"What kind of artifact are we talking about?" Religious artifacts could be anything from St. So-and-so's cross to St. What's-His-Face's left pinky toe. I wasn't crazy about the possibility of the latter.

"It's a tiki," Connie informed me. "Three foot high. Carved out of some sacred Hawaiian tree."

"Thank god it's not a toe."

"A what?"

"Nevermind. If this tiki is so valuable, why is he homeless?"

Connie went palms up. She didn't know.

I looked at the second FTA. "This says Dottie Luchek was arrested for solicitation at the KitKat Bar, but the picture you have attached to the file doesn't look like someone who gets arrested for solicitation. She looks like an apple dumpling."

"No, that's her."

"But she's my mother's age."

"A 'ho can be any shape or size," Lula said. "There's nothing wrong with a 'ho looking like an apple dumpling, or being of a certain age.

I showed her the picture.

"That don't look like a 'ho. That there looks like Paula Deen."

"That's what I'm saying."

"Well, I guess it takes all kinds. Only I don't know how many men out there wanna bang Paula Deen."

"Maybe it's more than you would expect," Connie offered.

"I'm thinking we should go after the homeless guy first, before the sun warms up the overpass."

"That's a good idea. No telling what kinda smells'll show up when it gets warm. Plus I ain't never seen a tiki."

ooo

The little Hooverville slum that had grown up at Third and Freemont was mostly made of cardboard boxes and plywood shanties. It also had the benefit of being near the soup kitchen, which was not only a source of nourishment, but was surrounded by blocks of streets that had a lot of panhandling potential. A few of its residents were high as kites, but most of them just looked tired. Lula asked about Brody Logan and we were pointed toward a small bedraggled tent. I gave the man a couple dollars and went on over. "Brody?" I said, pulling the flap aside.

"What?"

He was wearing a faded orange t-shirt and jeans, sitting cross-legged in front of the tiki. I could tell from the way his face fell that he knew why I was there. It was a look I'd gotten used to recently thanks to my weasel cousin. "My name is Stephanie Plum, I work for Vincent Plum Bail Bonds. You missed your court date."

"Oh man, give me a break. I'm real close."

"Close to what?"

"To getting this guy home. He's like a tiki, you know? He's supposed to be living in this cool shrine, having the good life, takin' in the volcano vibes. Problem is some idiot snatched him and smuggled him out of Hawaii in a bag of dirty laundry. Seemed like a good idea, you know, bring the good times back here, maybe impress some chicks, only the tiki isn't turned on by Jersey. So now he's bummed and havin' like a hissy fit and bringing this idiot dude bad juju."

"Are you the idiot dude who smuggled him out?" I asked.

"Whoa. How'd you know that? You must be freaky smart."

"I have my moments."

"Yeah, well I wish I was half that smart. Maybe if I was I'd've made enough already to get Tiki home to Hawaii instead facing jail."

"Speakin' of, I'd really like to know why you trashed the cop car," Lula said.

"The stupid cop took Tiki."

"The wooden thing."

"Yeah. He has a name besides Tiki, but I forgot it. He doesn't mind, though. He's cool with it. Anyway, Tiki was sitting in front of Starbucks waiting for me to come back with a cinnamon latte and the cop had picked him up. Said he looked stolen, and all the while Tiki's freaked out in the back seat like _Let me out, let me out_."

"You heard it talkin'?"

"Yeah, of course. Well, you know, in my head. That's how Tiki always talks to me."

"Is he talking now?" Lula wanted to know.

"Not now, but before you came he was telling me he wanted eggs for breakfast."

"How's he take his eggs?"

"Usually scrambled. And some wheat toast."

"I bet you smoke a lot of weed." Lula said. "Maybe do some 'shrooms."

"No way, man. I mean, maybe in the past, you know, but Tiki doesn't like that stuff."

"Good to know."

This was going nowhere fast. "This really isn't a big deal," I told him. "We can just go and get you rebonded, and if you don't have any priors I'm sure you can explain it all to the judge and get off with a slap on the wrist and community service."

He shifted. "And if I have a few substance related indiscretions?"

"You're boned," Lula said helpfully.

Brody's eyes got big as saucers and the next thing I knew I was on my ass staring at a Brody Logan shaped dust cloud. I scrambled up and after him, but by the time I reached Third he was gone. Lula clattered after me on her four-inch Via Spiga spike heels, doubled over and panting. "He's like the road runner. Next time we should try painting one of them tunnels on the wall. I bet he'd fall for that."

"It's a thought. I'm going back for the tiki. At least then Vinnie will have his collateral."

"I'm not sure Brody Logan'll like that. That thing talks to him. He tried to tear open a police car with a hammer for it. I don't see him being real happy when he comes home and it's missing."

"All the better. I won't have to chase him."

"Oh, I see where you're going. I can dig it."

I strapped the tiki into the back seat of the Mercedes and dusted off my hands. Got in next to Lula. "So what now?"

"Well, you got the apple dumpling, you got Cubbin, and you got Melvin Barrel. I'm thinkin' we should go for Barrel. We got lucky with the tiki, so I'm thinking we're on a lucky streak."

"We were after Brody and we lost him."

"Yeah, but now we got this tiki and I'm thinkin' that might improve our luck."

I shrugged and steered toward Broad, and then Stark Street.

Driving down Stark Street in the Mercedes was an entirely different experience now that I knew it was armor plated. Before, there was a tentative comfort that most of the bad guys would assume a car this nice would belong to a high-level drug dealer and leave it alone. Now I was fairly certain anything short of a rocket wouldn't be able to touch me as long as I played it safe.

We cruised the length of Stark, turned back at the graffiti covered gang signs of no-man's-land and ran the length again. I slowed when I got to Barrel's rooming house, idling a moment. I was about to move on when I saw Barrel on the next block, walking toward us. "There he is."

"Yeah I see him, but he don't see us. He's texting on his cellphone, not paying attention."

I cut the engine and Lula and I got out, heading for the sidewalk. Cuffs tucked into my waistband, illegal stun gun in my back pocket. I kept the pepper spray in hand, just in case. The plan was to have Lula distract him with the feminine wiles she'd hones in her previous profession while I tagged him with the stun gun from behind and cuffed him. I moved into the doorway of a building and Lula made a move toward Barrel. He was still looking at his phone when he turned and stepped off the curb right into the grill of a massive shiny black SUV.

The SUV kathunkered over him twice and skidded to a halt. Much like my stomach. Two men got out. They were all blinged up in gold chains and flashy clothes, the bass of their sound system still shaking the ground through the open doors. Lula and I ran over to them and we all looked down at the ragged figure laying prone in the street under the tread marks that crossed his chest.

"That's Melvin Barrel," the driver said.

The other guy squatted down for a closer look. "Yep. It's Barrel all right."

"Is he okay?" Lula asked.

"Looks to me like he's dead," the guy said.

"The idiot walked right in front of my car," the driver said. "Who does that?"

"He was texting," Lula told him.

"Well he ain't texting no more," the driver said. Then he pulled out a gun and unloaded five rounds into Barrel. I just about peed my pants. "That's for hitting my car, asshole."

Lula and I inched our way back as quickly as possible. Not that they guys cared. They got back in their SUV and drove away. I punched 911 into my phone with shaky fingers and reported the incident. I called Morelli and reported the incident. Then for good measure I called Ranger. And then Lula and I stood guard over the body so it wouldn't get scooped up by God knows who like the last time we were on Stark Street. No body, no body receipt. Now I know that's a very mercenary way of viewing the expiration of a human life, but in my defense, thinking of this in non-mercenary terms might have encouraged my breakfast to show up all over the road.

A Rangeman fleet vehicle arrived first, followed by a patrol car. The Rangeman muscle meant Lula and I didn't have to stand in the street over a dead body. Something we were both grateful for. Then came the EMT truck, Morelli, and two more cop cars.

Morelli parked and took a good look. Spoke to the cops and Ranger's guy for a minute, and then he sauntered over. "Your FTA has tire tracks on his chest."

"He got hit by a Mercedes."

"God, I hope that's not a confession."

"Not my Mercedes. Another Mercedes. There were these two guys in it and they hit Barrel when he walked into the street."

"But it wasn't technically a hit-and-run," Lula told him. "They stopped. It's just they only stopped long enough to shoot him shit full o' holes."

"He was shot _after_ he was run over?"

"Yeah, but it was recreational shooting, seein' as Barrel was already dead from bein' run over."

Morelli watched the uniforms cordoning off the scene with yellow tape before he turned back to me, trying to hide a grimace. "You do know your life isn't normal, right?"

I blew out a big sigh. "Yeah, I know."

"Are you sure? Because I would think if you fully appreciated just how fucked up this is you might be at least _considering_ a career change, and yet this shit happens to you constantly. It's like you've been marked by God. You're always at the precise spot when disaster strikes. I can't even count the number of cars you've exploded. And now on top of all of that I'm drinking Maalox for two."

"For two?" Lula asked him.

He cut her a glance. "Me and Ranger."

"Ah."

Morelli took me by the elbow. "If you'll excuse us, I need a word alone with Stephanie." He didn't wait for her to answer. He tugged me toward the tail end of my Mercedes, away from any prying eyes and ears. Put my back between the tail lights and stood facing me, hands on hips. "I take it you still haven't told Lula."

"I've been waiting for the right time."

"Does the right time have any correlation to how long you're able to hide it?"

The grin and shrug combination was supposed to come off as cute, but judging from the eye roll I might have missed the mark.

Morelli shook his head. "It still scares the crap out of me that I'm in love with you."

"Still?"

"Yeah. You'd think I'd get used to it after all this time, but it's not something that gets old."

"You're still in love with me?"

The cop face softened. "Yeah. I'm still in love with you. Which probably makes me a masochist. I'm not gonna have to cover anything up for you here, am I? You don't have any off the record surprises?"

"Nope. Not as long as you don't look in my back pocket."

"If you mean the stun gun we're all good, because between you and me I'm happier when you have the stun gun. It helps me sleep at night."

"About my FTA."

"Jesus, you're not gonna try and get the EMTs to drive him to the courthouse again are you?"

"There's a lot of paperwork involved when an FTA is dead. It's easier when you can have him show up in court. Can I at least take a picture? So I can prove he's dead?"

"Have at it."

I gave Morelli a detailed description of the driver and snapped a few pictures of Post Melvin Barrel, and then Lula and I left for happier places. Lula was still itching when she strapped herself into the Mercedes. "That's the worst part about this job, always being surrounded with cops and dead bodies."

"The job isn't really supposed to involve dead bodies. We're supposed to bring them in alive."

"Huhn, tell that to Mervin Barrel." Her eyes cut to the rearview mirror. "I almost forgot about Tiki back there. I thought this Tiki was supposed to bring us luck and we just watched some fool walk hisself into traffic. What's up with that?"

"You were the one who said the tiki was lucky."

"No, I'm pretty sure you said it. Or maybe it was Brody Logan, or the universe of something. You don't suppose it really talks to him, do you?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

Lula swiveled in her seat. "Hey Tiki, how's it goin'?"

I stopped for a light and glanced at her. "Well? Is he saying anything?"

"No, but I think he might be smiling, like he's real happy."

"I think that's just the face they carved on him."

"Hold on, something's coming to me. He's telling me it's lunchtime and he wants a bucket of chicken."

"Tiki said that?"

"Well, _somebody_ said that. It was in my head."

"It might have been you thinking it."

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure it had a Hawaiian accent."

We had to drive across town to get to Cluck-in-the-Bucket, and by the time we got there I was hungry enough to chew the leather seat. We ended up with two buckets of chicken, four sandwiches, three sides, a half dozen biscuits, and enough fries to give a girl a second chin. We packed it all back to the bonds office and waddled in with our treasures and the three foot tiki.

"We had a good day," Lula told Connie. "We had all kinds of success, so we decided to celebrate with some chicken."

"Looks like you're feeding an army."

"Catchin' felons is hungry work."

Vinnie poked his head of his office. "You catch Cubbin yet?"

"No, but we caught Melvin Barrel," I told him.

"Barrel's good. Does he need to be bonded out again?"

"I'm not bettin' so on account a he's dead," Lula said.

"How'd he get dead?" Vinnie wanted to know. I showed him the picture on my cellphone. "Jesus Christ. He has tire marks on his chest. And are those bullet holes? Jesus, Stephanie, how many times did you shoot him?"

"It wasn't me that shot him."

"Nope, he just walked out in front of a car," Lula said, digging around in one of the buckets, "and then the driver got out and filled him with lead for denting his bumper. We went after Logan too, only he got away, so Stephanie confiscated his tiki."

Vinnie blanched when I set the heavy thing on Connie's desk. "You brought it here? Christ!"

"Where else would I have taken it?" I said. "I thought you wanted it."

"Yeah, but not here! That thing is evil. It's a bad influence. Puts ideas in your head."

"I bet that's why you were so eager to get so much food," Lula said to me. "I bet Tiki was whispering to your inner fat kid."

Like my inner fat kid needed encouraging.

"Just get that thing out of here, before it ruins my marriage. Lucille has me in sex addict therapy as a last straw and I don't need that thing talking me into something that'll make my father-in-law Harry the Hammer live up to his name."

"Well I'm game if you're ready go," Lula said to me, wiping her hands on a stiff paper napkin. "I could use some sweet anyway, now that my belly's full of grease and salt."

"Sure. We can stop by Tasty Pastry on the way to Hamilton Township. I'd like to talk to Susan Cubbin again. I figure if anyone knows Cubbin's secrets, it's his wife."

"Yeah, do that," Vinnie said. "And for the love of god take that thing with you."

I lugged the tiki to the Mercedes again and re-strapped it into the back seat, and then steered toward Tasty Pasty. I parked in the lot while Lula ran in. She came out with a giant white bakery box. "What the heck is that? Did you buy a cake?"

"I was just going to go with a black and white cookie, but when I got up there there was this voice in my head sayin' I should get two of everything. I'm absolutely positive it was Tiki."

"You're just using Tiki as an excuse."

"Naw, I definitely heard someone whispering about cannolis. Not that I'm complainin'. Tiki had a good idea this time. These cannolis are delicious. You want one?"

"Sure," I said. "Give me a cannoli."

We drove to Hamilton Township and parked near the white ranch house with the black shutters. The house was dark. No activity. No white Camry in the driveway. We unbuckled and Lula cut her eyes to Tiki via the rearview mirror. "You think it's safe to leave Tiki in the car?"

"I'm not lugging a hunk of wood up to the door to talk to Susan Cubbin."

"But suppose something happens?"

"I'm sure Tiki will scream for help."

"Yeah, yeah. You're right."

I rolled my eyes and turned to Tiki. "Make good choices." And then I angled out of the car and started for the house.


	19. Chapter 19

AU of Notorious 19, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Nineteen

"So what's the plan here," Lula wanted to know, clattering across the road behind me on her four-inch heels. "It don't look like she's home. You want me to go looking through some windows?"

"No. The last thing I need is to invent another white cat. We were lucky it was Carl who showed up last time."

"Yeah, I got the impression he didn't believe you. You should probly work on your lying skills."

"Hey, I'm an excellent liar. But lying will only get you so far against common sense. And the plan is simple. I'm going to knock and see if she answers."

"There's no car out front."

"Maybe she parked her car in the garage."

"Or maybe she slipped in the shower and broke her neck and we need to bust in and rescue her," Lula said. I swiveled her a look. "What? It's called probable cause."

"It's called lunacy."

"Well, it was Tiki's idea."

"Tiki's got amazing range for a hunk of wood. And we don't need probably cause. I'm not a cop, I'm bond enforcement. I just need reasonable suspicion that my FTA is in there."

"Does a door hanging open count as reasonable suspicion?" Lula asked me.

I looked at the door. It was indeed hanging open. That wasn't a good sign. "Do you have your gun with you?"

"I always have my gun with me," she said, rummaging around in her purse. "Shoot. I switched over to my yellow bag so it would match my outfit. I musta forgot to move my gun over. I'd ask if you didn't have a gun neither, but we both know the answer."

I pulled my stungun out of my back pocket and held it at the ready, and then I pushed and the door squealed open. We checked the kitchen first. Everything was normal and in place. Respectably clean. No sign of a struggle. Her fridge was pretty empty, though. There was mayo, ketchup and jelly, but no milk or eggs. Nothing perishable. Didn't find any toiletries in the bathroom either. We went into the master bedroom. Bed was made and there was no sign of a suitcase. "I think Susan Cubbin left. She said she had a cat, but I don't see any signs of it here. If she took it with her, she's not planning to come back any time soon."

"What about the door?" Lula asked.

"Maybe she left in such a hurry she forgot to lock it."

"Or she didn't give a rat's ass about security. I don't see much in the crap she left behind worth protecting. Unless she left the good stuff in the closet."

We went to the closet and I reached for the handle and then the door burst open and we were face to face with a massive man. He was as tall as Tank, maybe 6'6", but were Tank was bald with rich chocolate skin and a hidden gentleness, this man was chalk white with long ghostly hair and an air of terror. One eye was blue and one brown, and the hard malice in them was almost enough to distract me from the snap of the stun gun in his hand. I had a fraction of a second to either try to stun him first or run like hell.

He lunged for me and Lula threw herself between us, tackling me to the floor with a zzzzzzzzzzzzzst.

She seized and went limp on top of me, crushing the air right out of my lungs. I heard a rush of receding boots, and then the front door, and then there was nothing but my wheezing breaths as I tried to shove Lula off of me. She was twitching. Took a few minutes for her brain to unscramble. "What happened?"

"You jumped on me and got zapped."

"I didn't wet myself, did I? I hate when that happens. Oh shit, it's coming back to me! There was a yeti in the closet and it had a stungun!"

"He's gone now, and it wasn't a yeti. It was a really big albino. He tagged you when you tackled me."

"Of course I tackled you, the yeti had a stungun! You can't be shocking no pregnant ladies with no stun guns, that's just all kinds of bad! I knew this pregnant girl once when I was a 'ho got shocked by a stungun, and it sent her into early labor!"

"You know I'm pregnant?"

"What? Nobody said that. Don't listen to me, I don't know what I'm saying, I'm all discombobulated from the 50,000 volts."

"How long have you known that I was pregnant?!"

"I mighta put it together a few weeks back when you had to stop chasing Frankie Rodriguez long enough to vomit behind that dumpster. And then there was the bloodhound nose and the way your jeans don't fit but your ass isn't any bigger."

"Does Connie know?"

"Of course Connie knows. She was the one who figured out the babydaddy, since she's known Ranger long enough to see he ain't the settling down type, but all of a sudden he's stayin' nights at your place and takin' you to doctor's appointments."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

Lula grunted herself up to sitting. "We figured you didn't want anybody to know. Like maybe you weren't ready. And that's cool. It's a big thing to have to be ready about."

I was touched. "You're a good friend."

"You should remember that when it comes time to name it," she said, hauling herself onto her feet so she could wriggle her skirt back into place. "Lula is a beautiful name. And I guess I shouldn'a been surprised Morelli knows. It sure explained all them fireworks after Hawaii. Good thing your Granny doesn't know yet, though. It'd be all over by now."

"Actually, Grandma and my parents have known since Ranger and I found out. Ranger bribed Grandma with the exclusive if she waited to blab."

"Hunh. That Ranger's a real smart cat. I bet your baby'll be some kinda genius."

She offered me a hand and helped me up. We checked over the house carefully on the way out, making sure to close the door. I couldn't lock it since I didn't have a key, but Lula had a point that there wasn't much there to steal. At least nothing the seven-foot-tall albino guy didn't already take. "I'm gonna head back to Central to talk to Randy Briggs. Something's nagging at me."

"Good luck with that. I might be a good friend, but I ain't going near no hospital cooties a second time. I'm going shoppin'. I heard Junior Moody got some new merchandise and he'll be open for business in the projects this afternoon. I'm gonna see if I can't pick myself up something pretty. Who knows, I might even get lucky and somebody'll have hijacked a truck that was headin' to Baby Gap. It's never too early to start buyin' for the baby shower."

I tried not to show the internal grimace.

I dropped Lula at the bonds office and promised to be extra careful with Tiki, and then I drove to Central. I swung into the parking garage and unbuckled, cutting a look to Tiki in the rearview mirror. "Keep the doors locked, and under no circumstances should you open up to strangers." I might have sworn that Tiki stared at me in a way that said _well duh_ , but there's a good chance I imagined that part.

Randy Briggs was on the computer in his office when I walked in. "Are you watching porn on the clock?"

"Oh jeez! It's you again. Somebody oughta put a bell around your neck," he said, hitting a button to lock out the screen. "What do you want this time? Do you wanna bite me too?"

"Eew, no. I came to talk about Geoffrey Cubbin. Like how he got out of the hospital."

"You're trespassing in my office."

"If you don't want to talk to me I could always send Grandma back here."

Briggs closed his eyes a second in silent prayer before he looked at me. "Please don't do that. I've got a good job here. I don't want to lose it."

"Then help me help you. I thought you wanted to find Cubbin, since he went missing on your watch. Aren't you motivated to find out what happened?"

"No."

"You're not even curious?"

"Not even a little bit. Nobody up the chain is worried about it, and while you'd have to be a real dummy to leave against medical advice there's no law against it. Cubbin was facing some serious jail time. I'm chalking this one up to cold feet on 15 to 20 and moving on."

"What about the others?" I asked, pointing to the pictures on the bulletin board behind his desk. "You said there were other disappearances before you were hired that you weren't responsible for."

"What's your point?"

"My point is a couple patients go missing and suddenly there's a job opening as head of security."

"There was a job opening because the guy who had this job before me got a better one in Newark."

"I could tell the hospital administrator about your bite offer. That could constitute sexual harassment."

"Not with your gene pool." He jumped off his booster seat and went to the file cabinet behind his desk. "You're a real pain in the ass, you know that? These are supposed to be confidential, so if you tell anyone I showed you I'll deny it. In the past three years there have been four patients that went AWOL in the middle of the night. No one seems to think that's unusual. Turns out people don't like being here." He tossed four files onto the desk between us. "The one who went missing before Cubbin was named Floyd Dugan. He was a boxer. Trained out of the gym on Stark Street. He got caught with a pound of heroin in his car. He said it was planted."

"Why was he here?"

"Hernia operation. He was out on bond, like Cubbin. Had the same incentive to disappear before his court date."

"This says he was operated on by Dr. Fish."

"Yeah, but that's not unusual. Dr. Fish is like the surgical equivalent of an ambulance chaser. The residents here call him 'Dr. Stalk' behind his back. Or sometimes 'Slash'. Rumor has it he isn't above removing a healthy appendix if business is slow."

"He seemed nice enough when I met him."

"No one's saying he isn't nice. They just think he might be a little aggressive when it comes to acquiring new patients."

I read the next file. Third guy to go missing was a homeless man who was hit by a car, kept overnight for observation and disappeared before day-break. And last, Willie Hernandez disappeared hours after having a kidney stone removed. He'd been an undocumented immigrant awaiting trial for domestic violence. And once again, his surgeon was Craig Fish. "They all had reason to disappear. And no one ever figured out how they left the hospital?"

"No. Like I said, nobody seems to care that much."

"It's weird."

"Could be ingenious. Find yourself in the hospital and you need to disappear, and then some nurse or orderly offers to make it happen for the right price? I could see taking that risk."

"What about the homeless guy?"

"Yeah, the homeless guy wouldn't fit into that scenario."

"So we have motivation for three out of four, but we still don't have means. Why didn't they show up on any of the security cameras?"

"Beats me. I looked at the tapes. I didn't see anything unusual."

"You mean you didn't see Cubbin sneaking out all hunched over dressed up like a nurse?"

"Ugh, you just gave me a mental picture."

"Is that a no?"

"That's a hell no."

"What about the other patients. Anything on those tapes?"

"The hospital only keeps tapes for six months. Cubbin is all we've got."

"Thanks. I appreciate the help."

"Don't mention it. And I mean _ever_. Anyone finds out you've seen these files I'll swear on the Bible that you broke in."

"Got it. I was never here."

"If only."

I called Connie on my way back to the parking garage. "I'd like to talk to Cubbin's night nurse. Can you get me information for a Norma Kruger." She texted me the address to a condo not far from the hospital. There weren't many cars parked in the condo parking lot. Most of the residents were young professionals, out working hard at their day jobs. Nurse Kruger was one of the few who worked nights. I parked in one of the two spots designated for her condo number, right next to a shiny red Jaguar convertible.

She didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. But between the Jag, the fancy blonde hair and the fake boobs, I was getting the feeling Nurse Kruger had to have a side job or a second income. And despite the distinct dominatrix vibe she put off, I was betting it wasn't sex work. I left her place and drove back to the bonds office. "Could you do a workup on Nurse Kruger's financials?"

"Already done," Connie said, handing me some pages. "Nothing interesting. She's divorced, but I don't see anything to suggest a big settlement. But she paid cash for the condo. Doesn't have a car payment either."

"She drives a Jag. How does she afford all this on a nurse's salary?"

Connie shrugged.

"I have some other names too. Floyd Dugan and Willie Hernandez. They disappeared from Central in the middle of the night just like Cubbin. I'd like to know if they've surfaced anywhere. I'm getting the impression nobody's looked particularly hard for them."

"I'll see what I can do," Connie said. Then she paused, craning her neck to look through the plate glass windows behind me. "I think someone's trying to break into your car."

I spun around and looked out at my Mercedes. Brody Logan was working the passenger side door with a crowbar. I took out my stun gun. "It's Logan. He wants Tiki."

"You'd better catch him before he damages that car and Ranger decides to get creative."

I was just out the door when Ranger's 911 Turbo pulled up behind the Mercedes, followed by a black Range Rover. Brody Logan scampered off before Brett could get halfway out of his seat. He took off after him anyway. Like a hound after a rabbit. I came out and stood next to Ranger while he surveyed the damage. "How bad is it?" I asked him.

"He scratched the paint, but that's about it. Was this a random attempt at grand theft auto or was that a friend of yours?"

"He's FTA and I have his tiki."

"I knew there'd be a good explanation. What's on your itinerary after the crowbar-wielding wonder?"

"I think I'm pretty much done for the day. Why, did you have something in mind?"

"I've got news that I thought you might like to hear over dinner."

"That bad, huh?"

"If it helps, I'll have Ella make dessert."

Boy. Now I knew it was bad.

Brett wasn't breathing hard when he came back, but I could see he wanted to. "He turned down an alley and I lost sight of him."

Should have painted a tunnel on the wall.

ooo

Ranger

Steph didn't seem particularly heartbroken over the loss of a chance to nab her skip. She had confidence in the effectiveness of her bait. Chances were good the opportunity would present itself again. "So do you want to ride with me? I could have Brett bring your car back to Rangeman."

She cut a look to the Range Rover where Tank waited behind the wheel. "What about Tiki?"

"Brett can take care of Tiki." Ranger steered her toward the Turbo and opened her door for her. Watched her slip inside. He tossed the Mercedes keys to Brett. Seven minutes later he pulled into his space beside the elevator and angled out, offering Steph a hand up. He let them into his penthouse apartment on the seventh floor. Steph melted at the scent of pan seared salmon and squash.

Ella had already set the table. Silver serving trays in the center complete with lit candles and a bud vase with a single rose. Ella was trying to tempt Steph into visiting more often via romantic ambiance.

He pulled out a chair for her and took his own seat while she uncovered the dish. "So what's the bad news?" she asked, cutting to the heart of the matter like only she could. Her bright eyes met his. "This dinner is very romantic. You have to be buttering me up for something."

"The romance was Ella's doing, but I'm not one to complain if it helps set a mood for later. As for the bad news, there was another message waiting for Kinsey when he got home from the hospital this afternoon. This time written on his living room wall."

"What did it say?"

" _Evil must be cleansed through fire."_

"Creepy." She glanced around his apartment. "I'm guessing you didn't get a message on your living room wall."

"My walls are harder to get to."

"One of the advantages to living in a secure building."

"Like Fort Knox and the Pentagon had a baby."

She flushed a little, but it wasn't because of the teasing. He was pretty sure it was the reminder that he'd heard the conversation she'd had with Mini several weeks back. The one about the depth of feelings between he and Stephanie. Feelings was a subject Steph avoided as carefully as she had the physical aspects of their association before things got real in Hawaii.

Something they had in common.

From the day he met her, Ranger had always known that Stephanie Plum was safer off limits. For both of them. She wasn't the kind of woman he allowed himself to fraternize with. She was too sweet. A good girl who would want to put down roots. The complete opposite of his type. Which was probably how she'd snuck so far under his guard. She'd been brave, and goofy, and admirable, and he'd let himself get attached. By the time he'd finally given into his desires and taken her to bed, the attachment was already too strong to allow his usual barriers. He couldn't compartmentalize her the way he did the others. And every time he was with her, that fact got harder to ignore. If he'd ever been one to use terms like smitten or head over heels, she'd be it.

"There's more bad news, isn't there?" she asked him.

"Why do you say that?"

"You're staring at me but you're not thinking about taking my clothes off. That's usually a bad sign."

"Kinsey and Amanda are getting married next weekend. They're worried the wedding might have a bullseye on it."

"I'd be worried too."

"Then you'll understand why as an extra security measure they want to replace one of the bridesmaids with someone who can protect the bride. They're asking for you."

"No. No no no no no, I don't want to be a bridesmaid. I've been there, it was awful. There's an ugly dress that never fits, and the stupid aisle walking, and every one stares at you..."

"I don't have a lot of other options, Babe."

"Well maybe if you employed a woman you'd have options! What about one of the guys? You've got to have at least one that would look halfway decent in the dress."

"Don't think it would go over well for one of my men to follow Amanda Olesen into the bathroom."

She held his gaze. Full of challenge. "What about you? Do you get to be a bridesmaid too?"

"I'm the best man."

The attitude dropped and she gaped at him. "Were you always the best man?"

"Yes."

"Holy cats."

"Babe. Can we get serious? Past the dress and the aisle walking? Kinsey asked me to help with security for the wedding. As a professional I agree that it would be a smart move to include you in the bridal party. But as your boyfriend and father of your child, I'm not exactly thrilled with the idea. If I had any other options I wouldn't have even brought it up. If you feel the least bit uncomfortable about it for any reason beyond being a bridesmaid, I'll understand."

"So that's a no on Tank in a dress?"

"That's a hard no."

"Okay, fine. But you owe me."

"Name it it's yours."

"Really?"

The way her eyes turned sultry made it clear she was considering all her options. And some of them didn't involve clothes. He fought a grin and lost. "That's a dirty smile, Babe."

"It is not," she lied.

"That wasn't a complaint. Some of your best ideas start with a dirty smile."


	20. Chapter 20

_We survived the hurricane and things are getting back to normal, including reopening of the schools. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayer._

AU of Notorious 19, contains some canon plot points.

* * *

Chapter Twenty

Steph

After dinner things progressed to the bedroom, which I have to admit is always my favorite part of staying over at Rangeman. It used to be because of Ranger's bed, with its dreamy space age mattress and ultra-soft high thread count Egyptian cotton sheets. Now it was equally because of the man I shared that bed with. Ranger was flat out scary in the best possible ways, and I'd found that since I'd stopped fighting the overwhelming urge and started ripping his clothes off when the mood struck, it was all together a more enjoyable experience.

I was wrapped up in nothing but sweaty sheets and Ranger when his alarm went off the next morning. My heart rate hovering somewhere around stroke level. He reached around me to shut it off and kissed me softly. "What's on the agenda today?"

"I'll need to check on Rex, but after that I didn't have anything planned. I don't suppose you'd want to go to the beach with me."

"I have client meetings at 9 and 11, and then I have to do a final walkthrough on a building downtown. As much as I would love to see you in a bikini I don't really have the time."

"You work too much."

"No rest for the wicked," he said, kissing me again. I melted into him a moment, distracted by the fire and magic packed into his smoking hot perfect body. He smiled like he'd read my thoughts and laid one more light kiss over my lips. Then he got out of bed and went to start the shower.

I was in his giant walk in closet trying to get dressed when he came back wrapped in a towel. Trying being the operative word. The jeans I'd left there had somehow managed to shrink since the last time I used them. Ranger was amused when he saw me struggling. Produced a rubber band from nowhere and looped it through the buttonhole of my jeans and around the button, extending the waistband by a couple inches. "Thanks."

"Might be time to start thinking about maternity clothes."

"No way. It's too early for that. I'm only 13 weeks. There's barely a bump."

"That bump's only gonna get bigger."

"I'll be fine. These are just my overly ambitious skinny jeans. They were always kind of tight. I have fat pants at home."

"And when the fat pants fail?"

"Then I'll start thinking about maternity clothes. Happy?"

The smile said yes. "Just charge it to the credit card whenever you're ready. Or if you'd prefer I could ask Ella to pick up a few things."

"Did you already tell her? She hasn't said anything."

"I asked her not to. But it was important she know your food restrictions."

"Lula said she and Connie figured it out weeks ago."

"It was only a matter of time."

I let out a sigh that was somewhere between frustrated and resigned. This was all happening whether I was ready or not. I tried to hold it in when the feelings welled up and started burning my eyes. Failing made it worse. Ranger wiped the tear away and pulled me close, resting my cheek on his beautiful mocha chest. "Babe, it's normal to be overwhelmed. This is a big life change."

"It's the hormones, I swear!"

I felt his chest move in a silent laugh. "You're doing great, Steph. Even with the extra hormones."

"So you don't think I'm crazy?"

"No crazier than usual."

I tipped my face up to glare at him and he kissed the tip of my nose, undoing my mad.

"I can try to finish my walkthrough early if you want. We wouldn't be able to go to the beach, but we could have an evening in. Hang out. Watch a movie. Make love on the sofa."

"Why is it so hard to stay mad at you?"

"It's a gift," he said, kissing my lips. Then he dropped the towel and started to get dressed. I stood there and watched the show all the way through, amusing him as he put on his watch and clipped his gun to his belt. He backed me against the wall and kissed me with enough passion to curl my toes. "Be safe. If you find yourself any excitement you can call the control room for backup. But if anything is bleeding or on fire I want you to call me directly."

"Okay."

His mouth tipped up and his body pressed even more into mine with another mind blowing kiss, putting me in a total stupor. I was still befuddled when he left for work. Boy. There really was no getting used to this.

I pulled myself together and gathered my things. Headed to the elevator and down to the parking garage. As promised, my Mercedes was there waiting for me in one of Ranger's personal spots. I paused when I passed the passenger side door. Rocked back on my heels. The door was pristine and beautiful again. No sign of the crowbar gouges anywhere. I called Ranger.

"Is something on fire already?" he asked me.

Smartass. "What happened to my door? Yesterday it was covered in scratches and today it's perfect."

"Those weren't scratches, Babe. They were practically a Jackson Pollock."

"Tell me you didn't replace it with Mark 3 just because of a few little scratches."

"Would it disappoint you to hear that Hank did a buff and fill last night?"

"It's looks brand new!"

"Hank is very good."

"Hank probably went to Hogwarts."

I think he might have been smiling again. "Babe."

I looked in the backseat. "Where's Tiki?"

"Brett brought it up to the control room last night, but Tank said it was creeping him out so he had it moved to the armory. Would you like me to have someone bring it down?"

"That's okay. I'm not really in the mood to chase Brody Logan anyway." I disconnected and climbed into my Mercedes. Checking the corners and cupholders suspiciously to make sure it was still the same car as yesterday. There weren't any residual straw wrappers or ketchup packets. But that could have just meant Hank cleaned out my car.

The world may never know.

The lot beside my apartment building was relatively empty on a Sunday morning, so I got a great spot right up front. Took the elevator up to the second floor and let myself into my apartment.

I set my bag on the kitchen counter next to Rex's glass aquarium. He stuck his nose out of his tin can house, whiskers twitching, looking for food. I poured some hamster crunchies into his bowl and he scurried over, stuffed his face until his cheeks were half his body size, and then scurried back into his tin can. Ever the chatty one. For an uncomfortable moment I felt like a bad hamster mom. I'd left him all on his own last night while I went and had passionate earthmoving sex with Ranger. I knew Rex didn't need much, but I'd still neglected him. I rubbed the swell of belly that was barely contained by my MacGyvered pants. Wondering if I was biting off way more than I could chew.

The doorbell bonged and freaked me out for a second. So many people just pick the lock and let themselves in that I'd actually forgotten I had a doorbell. I answered it and found myself face to face with Brody Logan.

"I want Tiki," he said, pushing passed me.

"He's not here."

"He has to be here. You left him all alone in your car yesterday, but he's not there now, so you musta brought him inside."

"I left him in a friend's building. How do you even know where I live?"

"I googled you. You're like famous. There were all these articles from the time you burned down the funeral home, and when your apartment caught fire, and the car explosions." He stopped searching my living room sofa cushions long enough to turn an eye to me. "Wait, what friend? What building?"

"It's a secure highrise in center city, but you'll never get in. Not without my help. If you wait for me to get my keys I'll drive you there. I have a passkey and everything."

"How do I know this isn't a trick? How do I know you'll really take me to Tiki instead of to jail?"

"Would I lie to you?" I asked him. The obvious answer was yes, but thankfully he didn't know me that well. "You can even follow me into the kitchen if you don't believe me. That's where I left my messenger bag with my keys in it." It also happened to be where I left my stun gun.

Brody Logan was suspicious, but he followed none the less. I reached for my bag where I'd left it leaning against Rex's glass aquarium. Flipped it open and stuck my hand inside. The second I got hold of the stun gun Logan freaked and dove for me. We crashed right into Rex's cage. Broken glass and metal went everywhere, a sharp pain stinging across my arm. I sucked in a breath and pulled back. There was a jagged red line from my wrist to my elbow.

"Jeez! I'm sorry! It was an accident!" Logan was saying, but all I could think of was Rex. I searched the carnage while Logan danced on anxious toes behind me. "Do you need me to like call 9-1-1 or something?"

I found Rex tucked safely into the back of his soup can and let out a relieved breath. "I think it's just a scratch. We're going to be okay."

"Oh good, because I'll be honest I'm not all that great with blood. In fact, I think I should probably just go."

"No! Wait!" But too late. Brody Logan had turned tail and vanished. Cripes! What did I ever do to deserve this? I held onto Rex in his poor little soup can and pulled out my phone to call Ranger.

I could hear the amusement in his silence while he excused himself and stepped away from his client. "Is something actually on fire this time?"

"Nope, it's the other one."

"How bad?"

"I'm pretty sure it's just a scratch, but it is bleeding. And Rex is homeless because his cage is all shattered and there's glass everywhere and Brody Logan got away and now I'm crying again! I'm a big fat bloody mess and there's nothing I can do about it!" I bawled.

"Babe, put your head down and take some deep breaths while I call you an ambulance."

"No, it's not that bad, I swear."

"Babe."

"I'm okay, really. But poor Rex!"

"Rex'll be fine. Rex is a survivor. Are you in immediate danger?"

"No. Logan's gone, and anyway it was an accident. He wasn't trying to hurt me. I was going for my stun gun and he sort of pushed us over into Rex's aquarium."

"And the bleeding?"

"It's not deep, but I'm going to need a really big Band-Aid."

"Find something clean and dry to press to it and I'll be there in ten."

"But your client meetings."

"Tank can handle it. You're more important."

The warm fuzzy sensation went a long way in the soothing the tears department. We disconnected and I wrapped my forearm in some paper towels and went in search of a Band-Aid. Ranger walked through my front door eight minutes later. He set me in one of my kitchen chairs and lowered to one knee, eye level with my arm. Peeled back the red blotched paper towels. "I suppose it could have been worse." He surveyed the kitchen, taking in the bloody shards of aquarium and the red spotted floor. His usual blank expression just a little grim. He mixed some salt into some warm water in a homemade saline solution and rinsed the cut, patting it dry with more paper towels. Then he applied some bandages from the first aid kit he'd brought up with him. "You want to explain this to me again?"

"Do I have to?"

"Considering you could have sliced open your ulnar artery and bled out in minutes, yes."

I sighed and told him about Logan and the tiki. "So in all fairness, the bad guy here is the cage for not being made of tempered glass."

"While I appreciate your natural buoyancy Babe it's not really making me feel better. I don't like it when you're bleeding. It's not my favorite thing."

I didn't know what to say to that. Rex was a soft little homeless fluff ball in my hand. Just knowing that he could have been hurt wasn't my favorite thing, and he was a hamster. Hard to imagine how Ranger would feel about the person who was growing his child.

His eyes lost some of their hardness. "Let's take you in and have a professional make sure there isn't any glass left inside. We can go from there."

"I was going to take a shower and change into pants that fit."

"You can shower at Rangeman."

"But I don't have my razor or my shave gel or any of my hair care products at Rangeman."

"I've told you you can leave them in my apartment if you don't want to use mine."

"But then there's all my makeup and my blowdryer and your bathroom is so spotless—"

"Babe." He'd said it very gentle and patient, like he was about to explain logic to a tantruming three-year-old. "You're walking around with a part of me growing inside you. You think I care if you clutter my bathroom?"

"I was afraid it would seem like too much," I murmured, hoping he wouldn't hear me.

The serious in his eyes told me he did. "Stephanie. Leaving clothes and makeup in my apartment isn't the same as moving in together. All they are is an added level of comfort on the occasions you choose to spend the night."

"But you don't have a razor or shave gel in my bathroom."

"That's because I live in the same building I work in, but if it would make you more comfortable I can set up your bathroom the way it was the last time I stayed with you."

That made my stomach squishy. Hard to tell if that was good or bad.

The corner of his mouth twitched like he was thinking about smiling. He looked down at Rex, petting his head with one finger. "Hal is waiting in the hall to clean up the glass and take custody of Rex. I'm going to collect some of your essentials, and then we'll head to the hospital. Okay?"

There wasn't anything for me to do but nod.

ooo

Ranger

Steph was disturbingly quiet in the hospital waiting room. She'd hesitated when it came time to pass the hamster over to Hal. A hint of her deep seated but often unrecognized maternal instincts. Steph acted like she didn't have them, but the truth was she got maternal over everything from a lost dog to a skip with a good sob story. Steph was all soft spots. It was the responsibility she actually struggled with.

He made sure she was safe and patched up before he brought her home, the weekend bag he'd packed for her hanging over his shoulder. She relaxed the second they crossed the threshold into his apartment. Made a bee line for the brand new tempered glass case on his kitchen counter, complete with wheel and accessories. Hal had made sure Rex was no longer homeless before he'd handed him to Ella.

"I have a few things to oversee before I can take the afternoon off. Do you need anything else?"

"I think I'm okay. But would you mind if I used your computer after I shower? If I'm going to stay inside I might as well do some research and your search programs are better than mine."

"Babe, you don't need permission to use anything in my apartment."

"I just thought it was polite to ask. You never know, you could have left some porn tabs open or something."

God, she was such a smartass. "There isn't anything on my computer that you can't see. There's a reason nothing in my apartment has a lock on it."

"There's a lock on your gun safe," she pointed out.

"Babe, if you want the combination to the gun safe just say the word." That got him a grimace. She didn't want to get into the gun safe. Pity. She might like what was in the back of it. "Is this research attached to Brody Logan?"

"No, it's for the Cubbin case. If he doesn't show up for his court date tomorrow he'll officially be FTA. So far there have been no signs of him, and a lot of things aren't adding up. There have been three other disappearances from Central over the last three years, and Cubbin's night nurse is definitely flashing around more money than I can account for. I'm thinking there might be a black market service that'll help you vanish for the right price."

"None that I've heard of, which would mean they'd have to be especially discrete. So you're researching the night nurse?"

"Connie's looking into her already. Same with the missing patients. I thought I'd run them through your skip tracing service in case she comes up empty. There's also the albino guy that shocked Lula."

"You'll want to explain that."

"Lula and I went to talk to Cubbin's wife and this giant albino guy jumped out of the closet at us. Lula thought it was a yeti."

"What did Cubbin's wife say about it?"

"She wasn't home."

"You telling me you did a B and E on Cubbin's house?"

"Actually it was just E. The door was open."

"I was starting to wonder why I wasn't invited to the party. Go on."

"Anyway. It looked like she'd cleared out, at least for the time being, and then we were surprised by a big hairy albino guy with one blue eye and one brown eye. He had a stun gun, but Lula jumped in front of me to keep me from being shocked. That's how I found out she and Connie already knew I was pregnant."

The smile dropped out of Ranger's eyes. "He tried to stun you? Do you know what could have happened if he'd succeeded?"

"Lula said it sent a girl she knew into early labor. That's why she jumped on me."

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

"I was sort of afraid you'd go on a yeti hunt."

"Shouldn't be that hard to find."

"A six and a half foot tall albino burglar? You're probably right. But it doesn't feel like that big a deal."

"If he'd managed to hurt you it would have been a big deal."

Her face said _But he didn't_. She just didn't say it out loud.

"You'll tell me if this gets serious."

"Sure."

"That wasn't a question, Steph. I don't have a problem with you doing bond enforcement as long as you're being careful. If I get the impression you're not being careful I might assign you a partner. We both know how you feel about that."

"I'll be more careful," she assured him. "Scout's honor."

He gave her a stern look, but inside he was rolling his eyes. He gave her a kiss and left her to do her thing. Took the stairs to five. Tank was in the control room. "Locke is waiting in your office."

Ranger nodded to acknowledge. "I want Hal's schedule for the next week. He may be shifted to Stephanie duty. And I want you to dig up what you can on an albino living in or around Trenton. Male. At least 6 feet. One blue eye, one brown."

"Steph's after an albino?"

"Not directly, but I want know as much as possible incase I need to declare open season on yetis."

Tank smiled at the joke and Ranger turned into his office.

The contract negotiation with Locke and Associates and the system walkthrough in the building downtown took up most of his early afternoon. By the time he finally made it back to Stephanie she was curled up in his bed in her thinking position, a stack of printed pages beside her. He thumbed through a few. Deep personal histories for Cubbin and two other men, Dugan and Hernandez. No recent activity, though. No rental applications or property records. Not so much as a credit card transaction. Either all three of these guys had acquired new identities, were living off the grid in a cash only existence, or they were dead. He didn't like that his instincts favored the last one.

Steph stirred. Ranger let the smile surface. Her first trimester need for naps had only diminished slightly.

Ranger put a knee on the mattress and moved over her, holding his weight off her enough that his body was only skimming hers. She liked it. He brushed a light kiss to her lips. "How's the arm?"

"It stings a little, but mostly it feels okay. How was your meeting?"

"Productive. The walkthrough took a little longer than I'd hoped. But on the plus side, I'm all yours for the rest of the night."

"That is excellent news. So what do you want to do? Grab a late lunch? Watch some TV?"

He lowered a little more of his weight on her and kissed her again. Nestling his other knee between her legs. She responded immediately. Fingers searching up his shirt, thighs falling open to accept him. In the past, this was the point where her guilt or prudence would catch up to her, but even those were long gone. They were lovers. Beyond need for other labels. And every time he stripped her down to nothing and made them one, he knew his compartments were getting just a little more blurred.

He felt her breathing change and let go of his control. Let the world dissolve around them until there was nothing but the feeling moving between them. Her breathless cries were in his ear when he hit his own crescendo. Flooded with relief and ecstasy and love in her arms.

Things had never been simple between them. A delicate dance between her fear of commitment and his of emotional intimacy. But this part was easy. Loving her. Made sense. Even when nothing else did.

They spent most of the evening in the bed. Or the sofa. Or the kitchen table. Only surfacing to hydrate and feed Steph's growing appetite. He was under the covers tracing her sweaty skin with kisses when he heard his phone buzz on his bedside table. Not a pattern he liked to hear. He flipped the covers back and reached for it. Damn. "There was a break-in at Kinsey's building in Whitehorse."

"Oh boy."

Ranger called Tank. "Do we have eyes yet?"

"Miguel was nearest. He just arrived. Said the side door was breached. He's doing a sweep now."

"Tell him to keep vigilant. Could be more this time than writing on a wall. I'll be down in a minute."

"Copy that."

Ranger hung up and got out of bed, picking his pants up off the floor. "I've gotta go Babe."

"Is it serious?"

"Hard to say at this point. But when the opening move is poisoning followed by home invasion, it means things are personal. I told you this guy could be capable of anything."

That was the moment Ranger's phone and computer both lit up at once in the _Oh shit_ alert.

He snatched the phone off the bed, but he knew before he looked what it was going to say.

"Stephanie, I need you to get dressed. Kinsey's building is on fire."


	21. Chapter 21

AU of Notorious 19, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-One

Steph

We threw clothes on as fast as we could and hit the stairs without waiting for the elevator. The control room was in crisis mode. You'd think that would mean shouting and panic like in the movies. This was scarier. Sharp, quiet voices and clinical efficiency. The control desk full of men who didn't look up. Watching monitors. Listening to scanners. Coordinating assets. Tank was standing lead over it all. The living embodiment of immovable strength.

Ranger spoke all of three words to him, then tugged me toward the stairs. "Police scanners are reporting a large fireball in the vicinity of Kinsey's building. Tank said Miguel mentioned the scent of accelerant a few moments before the alarms went up and his com went dead."

I stopped cold on the stairs. "He was inside? Is he…"

"We don't know," he said, turning back long enough to scoop me up. He pinned me to his side to get me moving again. We hit the 911 at the same time. Dropping into the seat with the rev of engine. The tires chirps when he whipped back, the gate already standing open for our departure.

The drive should have taken eight to ten minutes, but we made it in five. The building already surrounded by engines and cop cars and flashing lights. Hosemen dressed in their turnout gear braved toward the inferno, battling demons with nothing but axes and arcs of water. It was like a bad dream. Like seeing Hell itself. The night filled with smoke as the glowing embers burned upward and became ghosts in the sky.

Ranger kept me close to him while he found the captain, listening to the radio transmissions as the fight raged. He relayed it back to Rangeman when the call came in. They'd found a survivor. It took a minute to see anything in the murky darkness, but the second fireman breached the smoke carrying a figure on a backboard my heart started pounding in my throat again.

He was covered in too much black to tell if it was soot or third degree burns.

Ranger held my shoulders to focus me. "I need you to go with Miguel to the hospital and keep me in the loop on his condition. Take the Turbo. I'll catch a ride and meet up with you after the scene has been secured." He placed the keys into my hand. "Pick out something comfortable from the lockbox under the seat and keep it with you. Miguel's vehicle was in plain view when the building went up. There's a chance whoever orchestrated this knew he was inside."

"That's horrible! Who would do that?"

The intensity in his eyes made me swallow. I promised to take a gun. From the way he was looking at me I was sure I'd regret not keeping that promise.

Dammit. I hated carrying a gun.

Ranger curled a hand around the back of my neck and kissed me. "Be careful."

"You too."

I know I didn't need to say it, but sometimes you can't help the way you feel.

We parted ways and I followed the ambulance to St. Francis. Parked the Turbo in the parking garage. I took a .38 from the lockbox and stuffed it against the small of my back, even though there wasn't much room there thanks to my expanding waistline. Thankfully the shirt I'd grabbed was Ranger's and it covered the bumps at the front _and_ the back.

I got a few odd looks when I walked into the ICU like I belonged, but by the time somebody tried to stop me I'd already spotted Miguel in a curtained bed at the end of the row. "Excuse me," the nurse said. "No one is allowed back here."

"I'm his wife," I told her.

She looked doubtful. Spouses were the only exception to the rule and we both knew it. She cut a look to Miguel. He was in bad shape, but he was conscious. He nodded confirmation. He didn't look particularly comfortable about it, considering I was his boss's girlfriend, but thankfully the nurse assumed the pained expression was because of his burns. "I gave him something a few minutes ago, so don't be alarmed if he gets kind of loopy."

"God bless you," I told her. She gave me a thin smile and walked away. I sat in the empty chair next to Miguel's bed. The burns looked really bad. His face and neck were dry and red. His shirt scorched. His arms were the worst. I could see edges of shiny blisters under the white gauze wrapping. It hurt just looking at him. "Do you remember what happened?"

"Side door was hanging open when I rolled up," he managed. Voice raw from the smoke. "Figured the intruder was still inside. Didn't realize something was wrong until I smelled gasoline. And then the rocket hit. Dove behind a pillar. Whole building in flames." His words were starting to slur.

"You never saw anyone?"

Barely a head shake. He was unconscious.

I spoke to the doctor and then I called Ranger. "He has first and second degree burns over 38% of his body. They said most of them were superficial, but the burns on his arms were pretty extensive. It'll take weeks of recovery, and he'll have scars."

"Did he say what happened?"

"He said it was a rocket."

"That would explain the damage. The marshal confirmed evidence of an accelerant after they managed to put out the fire. I don't suppose Miguel saw the arsonist."

"No. But he did say the side door was open. Like an invitation."

"Which means our unsub not only knew he was in the building, he lured him in."

"This is sounding personal on more than one front. Whoever this is isn't just after Kinsey. They're after you too."

"And anyone connected to me, apparently. Where are you right now, are you safe?"

"I'm sitting in the ER with Miguel."

"Are you armed?"

Sigh. "Yes."

"Good. I'll be there are soon as I can."

ooo

I'd gotten pretty comfortable with Ranger's silence over the years, but the persistent quiet on the drive back to Rangeman was anything but comfortable. Ranger kept his own counsel. He was still deep in thought when we reached the cool solitude of his apartment. He placed his keys in the silver tray on the sideboard. His gun next to them. Soft weight of metal on metal. "Stephanie, I'm giving you another chance to back out of this. You don't have to get involved any further if you don't want to."

"You're a target as much as Kinsey. I can't just walk away from that."

His face was all Fort Knox when he turned to me. Sticking his hand in the back of my pants. He came up with the .38 and I couldn't suppress the grimace. "Would you really be willing to carry full time until this is over, because that frown you just made says no."

"Okay, so I'm not crazy about guns. But I'm also not crazy about you facing this alone. Like it or not we're sort of a package deal."

His eyes softened a little.

"You really don't have any idea who's doing this?"

"No. The code was secret, but it's been years since the unit was disbanded. Someone might have had too much to drink one night and talked too much. Somebody might have shared his life story with a woman and not thought anything of it. My instincts tell me one of the men is involved, but it's not a given fact. Without something solid we're in a waiting game."

"Shared his life story with a woman? I can see why you wouldn't want to make that mistake."

"Babe."

"What? That basically means we can't be trusted."

"It means not everything in our military career was meant to be shared. Not that you couldn't be trusted with it. I trust you like I trust Tank. But some burdens have to be carried alone." He waited to make sure I wasn't going to get annoyed with him before he went on. "Rehearsal is at seven o'clock on Friday, followed by dinner. The wedding is at four on Saturday. Is there any way I can talk you into staying with me until this is resolved?"

"Do you really think that's necessary?"

"Rangeman would be hard to breach, which makes it nearly impossible to get to me. Your apartment is much more vulnerable. I'm worried that because I'm inaccessible the next target will be someone I love. You'd be at the top of that list."

"So it's not just because you want to have a lot of wild sweaty sex without having to commute?"

"Babe, can you take this seriously please?"

"I am taking it serious, I swear! It's just that it's easier to take it serious if it's not so serious."

The corner of his mouth twitched. "So is that a yes?"

"Yes."

"Thank you. But just so you know, I was prepared to offer wild sweaty sex as a bonus."

"Well now I'm definitely in."

The rest of his stone face eased.

ooo

It had taken two thorough scrubbings and a lot of hot water to get the soot smell out, but by the time Ranger and I retired to his bed there wasn't a hint of crazy firebomber anywhere but inside my head. I was pretty good at denial, and I'd certainly faced my share of fires. Seeing the aftermath on one of Ranger's men, though, was something that would be hard to forget.

Before he left for work the next morning, I asked Ranger to send someone to the armory for Tiki. I figured the best way to keep the bad thoughts at bay was the go on business as usual, and business as usual was catching Brody Logan. So far he'd been squirrely, but I was figuring persistence was what would pay off in this case. And if that didn't work, I could always order an anvil from Acme.

Lula was already at the bonds office when I arrived. "What happened to your arm?"

"Freak accident. Nothing serious."

"You look annoyed. Is Tiki getting you into trouble?"

No, it was my life that was getting me into trouble. "I've got a lot of things on my mind. Like Cubbin. His disappearance is gnawing at me. I mean, it's not like he went for a walk in the woods and never came home. The guy was in a hospital. There were video cameras. There was limited access. Two nurses were on duty."

"What if it was one of the nurses that snuck him out?" Lula asked.

"I wouldn't put it passed Norma Kruger. She didn't give me warm fuzzies when I talked to her. Problem is, even with Kruger's help I can't figure out how Cubbin got off the surgical floor without getting picked up on any cameras. Both Briggs and the police looked at the tapes."

"You think she has magical powers? Like the invisibility cloak from Harry Potter?"

"That would be too weird."

"I heard weirder. For example, I wouldn'ta thought three days ago that we'd be riddin' around with a magic tiki."

"Speaking of," Connie said, leaning around me to look out the window.

Logan was out there again, this time with a slim jim. I ran for the door, but like a woodland creature he sensed danger and scampered off before I could reach him. Damn. "This is getting old."

"You could always set one of them traps like Wyle E. Coyote. I'd bet the Brody Logan version of a pile of birdseed would be a pot brownie."

"I don't need a pot brownie. I already have Tiki."

"Well you should use it sooner rather than later," Connie said. "Logan was a medium bond. We need his recovery money. And don't forget, you still have Dotty Luchek. That bond might be small, but it'd still be nice to clear it off the books."

True. I didn't particularly want to go after a prostitute that reminded me of my mother, but that was the job. And even though I didn't exactly need the money anymore, I did have a closure rate to uphold. It was a matter of professional pride. "I want to do a drive-by on Nurse Norma first. If nothing turns up we'll try Dottie Luchek."

ooo

Lula and I drove the Mercedes down Olden and cut across town, idling past Norma Kruger's condo. The Jag was in its assigned spot, but the curtains on the condo were drawn. Probably asleep from working the graveyard shift. I didn't think there was any point in knocking. I looped the parking lot and was on my way out when I noticed a rust-ridden van parked across from Kruger's apartment. A tangerine skinned woman with fried blonde hair behind the wheel. Susan Cubbin.

I parked next to her and asked Lula to stay in the car with Tiki.

Susan barely cut me a look when I approached. The cat was sleeping next to her on the front seat, a sleeping bag stretched out across the back. The van smelled like kitty litter. "What's up?" I asked her.

"I'm looking for my jerk husband. What's up with you?"

"Same. Have you been parked here long?"

"Long enough to know that if Dominatrix Barbie has my husband somewhere it's here. She never goes anywhere else unless she's working. He's probably all tied up in there. She's probably turned her powder room into a sex dungeon."

"How do you know where she goes? Have you been following her?"

"I only followed her on the first day. She spent two hours at The Clinic, from 4 to 6, and then she did a shift at Central. It was a real snoozefest. Mostly I'm watching the condo. I'm waiting for a sign that he's in there and then I'm going in like gangbusters."

"What clinic? Is it attached to the hospital?"

"No. She's moonlighting at a private practice on Deeley Street. Not that I saw any actual patients going in or out. Could be a research place. There are a lot of them between here and Princeton."

I gave Susan another business card and wished her luck, and then returned to Lula. "Well?"

"It's Susan Cubbin. She's hunkered down looking for her husband and the five million dollars. She said Nurse Kruger has been moonlighting at a private practice on Deeley. Might be worth checking out." I called Connie. "Can you look up a place on Deeley called The Clinic?"

She tapped for a minute on her keyboard. "It's a private clinic for surgical recovery. Usually that means it's a spa type facility where healthy men and women can hang out after cosmetic procedures like face-lifts and liposuction. Two doctors are listed on staff. Abu Darhmal and Craig Fish." She gave me the address. "I can go deeper if you want, but it'll take time."

"Sure. I'm not in a rush."

I fed the address into my GPS and following it to one of the many industrial complexes that lined the highway. Most of the buildings were medical arts. A plumbing supply company. A FexEx facility. And The Clinic, off by itself at the end of a cul-de-sac. It was pretty unremarkable for a plastic surgery day spa. I'd been expecting something state of the art, with big shiny glass windows and a lot of clean modern lines. I was not expecting an ugly avocado colored stucco building. "This can't be right."

"According to Connie it is," Lula said. "Look, it says The Clinic right there on the side."

"It doesn't look like they're doing any business."

"Yeah, I don't see any ladies waddling around after having fat sucked out. I don't like the looks of this place neither. I wouldn't want to do no convalescing here."

"I'm going to poke around a little. Are you coming?"

"I guess. As long as I don't catch a whiff of no cooties."

We tried the front door first, but there was no answer. Blinds on the windows were drawn too. There was a big roll-down steel door at the back covering the entrance to an underground garage, and beside it was a steel fire door with a keypad, and a drop box big enough for large packages. No sign patients would come or go by this side either. Not very encouraging for a place that was supposed to cater to the face-lift crowd.

I decided to ask some of the neighbors. Started at the FedEx store. They'd said The Clinic was pretty quiet. Rare to see anyone about. But that every once in a while they'd ship a bunch of cold packs all at once. Their nearest neighbor, Myron Cryo, said pretty much the same. Always looked closed. Never any traffic. He did say the security guard heard the garage door open on occasion. But that was it.

"Something doesn't feel right here. My instincts are telling me to get a look inside."

"Are you sure that's not just your nosey gene? You know you got that real strong from your granny's side."

"I'm mostly sure. All the incognito coming and going tells me their hiding something, and I don't think it's because of rich clients."

"You're thinking they might be running some kind of identity changing operation. Like if you need to disappear and got the money we'll smuggle you out and give you a new face."

"Maybe. But whatever it is I'm thinking there's a chance they might have Cubbin stashed in there, but I don't want to go in hot as bond enforcement just incase I'm wrong. If he's not in there I want to be able to look around without tipping anybody off."

"We could always go in tonight. I'm sure the Man of Mystery could get us through that keypad door."

"I don't want to bother Ranger with this. He has a lot on his plate already. But I got a really good look at that drop box. It was pretty big. At least two feet wide and three feet deep. I'd bet Randy Briggs would fit inside it."


	22. Chapter 22

AU of Notorious 19, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Two

"Oh no. No no no no."

"It's a solid plan!"

"It's a nutso plan. There's no way I'm letting you stuff me in a mailbox. And by the way, just suggesting that is demeaning. How would you like to be stuffed in a mailbox?"

"I wouldn't fit," I told him.

Briggs narrowed his eyes at me. "I bet I could get you to fit."

"There's no need to get nasty over this. I'm trying to help you here. You're the one who lost a patient. I know you said nobody cares about it, but I think you do. I think it really bothers you that someone got away on your watch and you'd like to nab him just as much as I do."

"You're trying to appeal to my pride? Like I'd put my reputation above my dignity?" I just stared at him a minute and he heaved out a sigh. "You really think Cubbin is in this Clinic?"

"It's possible."

"Fine. I'll do it, but I swear if you ever tell anyone you stuffed me into a drop box I'll shoot you."

I returned to Lula where she waited in the Central parking garage and plugged the key into the ignition. "What did he say?" she wanted to know.

"He says he'll do it, but if we tell anybody he'll shoot me."

"I don't see that going over all that well with Ranger. Did you tell him that wouldn't go over with Ranger?"

"No because I don't need Ranger to fight my battles. Besides, I'm 60% sure he was bluffing."

"So where to now?"

"Well. We could either go back to the bonds office or we could go after Dottie Luchek."

"As much as I wanna see a ho' that looks like Paula Deen, I gotta grab me a nap if we're gonna be breaking and entering tonight."

Bonds office it is.

Connie was still at the office when we got back, but she looked like she was about done for the day. She handed me a file. "I looked into the second doctor listed on The Clinic's staff. Abu Darhmal is forty years old and has a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Maryland. No medical degree that I could find. He's originally from Somalia. Looks to me like he has a green card but isn't a U.S. citizen. I couldn't find an address other than The Clinic. He taught at college level before he settled at The Clinic four years ago. No wife or other dependents. He was accused of human trafficking four years ago but was acquitted. Probably why he left academia."

"Human trafficking?"

Connie shrugged. "I haven't been able to find any details yet. You think that's sketchy. The Clinic is listed as a medical recovery facility, but that's it. No hours of operation. A phone number that goes directly to voicemail. It's owned by a holding company, Franz Sunshine Enterprises. Franz Sunshine bought the building at auction four years ago. It's assessed assets come to just under $500k. That's not a lot for a viable business." She gave me that file too. "And on that note, I'm out of here. There's a glass of wine waiting for me somewhere."

"I'm outta here too," Lula said.

I checked my watch. It was almost six. I took my files out to the car and called Ranger. "So what's the plan tonight? Are we having dinner at Rangeman?"

"Ella would be happy to cook for you anytime Babe, but the way my evening is going I may not get to dinner until midnight."

"Jeez, that bad?"

"Unfortunately. I've been trying to verify the physical locations of the other men from my unit, but as most of them are active military there are a lot of firewalls and red tape. I'm still trying to reach a superior in southeast Asia. We're also upgrading security on Kinsey's place tonight. He had a basic system, but that's obviously not going to cut it given recent events."

"I suppose I could just go to my parents' house for dinner. I have plans later with Lula anyway."

"Are you carrying?"

"Yes."

"And there are bullets in it?"

"I didn't check."

I think he might have wanted to sigh. "There's a lock box under your seat with ammunition and a spare magazine. If I find your weapon empty when I come home there will be consequences."

"Understood."

I pulled up to my parents' house three minutes before six, Tiki in tow, for some pot roast, mashed potatoes and chocolate pudding. I was kind of hoping Grandma would have heard more about Cubbin, but all she had was a rumor that there'd been a kidnapping plot in the works prior to his disappearance, perpetrated by some of the residents of Cranberry manor. She didn't have any names, but it seemed worth looking into.

I put my leftovers on the back seat next to Tiki and turned toward The Clinic. I was the first to arrive in the FedEx lot. Lula arrived ten minutes after me, Briggs a few minutes after Lula. We all had pen lights and pepper spray. We were all dressed in black, like in the movies. And we all felt sort of stupid. Okay, maybe not Lula, but definitely me and Briggs. I thought about stuffing my .45 into my pants like Ranger had asked, but that was never very comfortable and to be honest it seemed like overkill for an empty building.

We all piled into the black Mercedes and coasted without lights into the Myron Cryo lot so we could cut through the trees that separated Myron Cryo from the back of The Clinic. Only a single overhead light shone over the back side of the building. One window lit at the far end of the second floor. I opened the drop box door and shined my penlight inside. This was going to be a tight fit.

"I'm not crazy about this," Briggs said. "What if I get stuck? What if I get caught?"

"If you get caught just tell them some college kids scooped you up and stuffed you in the box for fun," Lula said. "Probably happens all the time to you little people."

"I got a gun," Briggs said to Lula. "I could shoot you."

"No shooting!" I told him. "Jeez, why does it always come to shooting."

"Stephanie don't like shooting. It makes her cranky."

"Let's just get this over with," I said.

Lula picked up Briggs and shoved him kicking feet first into the opening. He didn't fit right away. Lula used some muscle to stuff him down and the chute finally closed, albeit with a fair amount of swearing and banging around. Then there was silence.

Lula and I waited, staring at the box.

"You don't think he died in there, do you?" Lula asked me.

I rolled my eyes so hard I got dizzy. Then I thought about it. Got worried. Checked the box and found it empty. Then we heard a scraping sound at the back door. My cellphone rang. It was Briggs. "Hang tight. I can't reach the deadbolt. I'm going to get something to stand on."

A minute later the door swung open and Lula and I scooted into the building.

There were two vehicles parked in the dimly lit garage. A black Escalade and a white panel van. We took the stairs to the first floor and I peered around the corner to squint into the dark hall. "Stay here," I whispered to Lula and Briggs. Then I crept into the darkness.

The place was laid out like a ritzy retirement home that was never put to use. Finished but unfurnished. There were even nurses stations standing empty in the centers of the halls. The pinpoint brightness of my penlight swept over the ghost town rooms. Obviously no one was staying here. No one had ever stayed here. An eerie thing for a place that supposedly had been in operation for four years. I retraced my steps and moved up to the second floor, my heart beating harder. I could see light spilling out of the doorway at the end of the hall. The faint sound of television drifting out. I swept the rooms. Most of these were unused offices. I found two that were occupied, but I didn't feel safe taking the time to snoop. I crossed the center foyer and held my breath, opening another door. Found a fully equipped lab. Must have belonged to Darhmal, the biochemist. There were two rooms across from it that were set up like a hospital, complete with made beds, but I couldn't see any personal effects or accessories to suggest anyone was currently using them.

The television sounds swelled and I got palpitations. Sure that I had sweat leaking across my brow. I had one more room to check. The one right next to the illuminated double doors that seemed to lead to the occupied day room. There was a keypad on it, but it wasn't locked. I said a silent prayer and eased the door open. Eased it shut again and flicked on the penlight.

It was full of shiny instruments and machines, all crowded around a big steel bed. Took me a minute to realize it was an operating room. Not that I had any personal experience with operating rooms outside of TV. To my untrained eye it all looked very complete and high tech. There were cabinets with drugs and syringes, refrigeration units, gas tanks, trays of surgical tools. Like someone had taken the OR out of the fanciest hospital in Jersey and dropped it into a condemned nursing home.

A phone rang in the dayroom and I nearly swallowed my tongue.

A man answered it.

I didn't dare take a breath while I listened, waiting for the alarm to sound out _intruders_! I palmed my phone to dial Lula as the established signal that I was screwed.

The man's voice didn't raise. He didn't shut off the television. His words were inaudible, but even. Social. Must have been a personal call. I braved into the hall again and dared a careful peek. A terribly tall figure was sitting on a couch with his back to me, long white hair turning colors with the changing washes of light. The Yeti was the only one in the room.

I whirled around and ran for the stairs. I'd only just reached them when I heard a yell. "Hey! Stop right there!"

I was down the steps so fast it was like my feet were wings. I tripped on the last one and went down, but popped up a second later, sprinting past Lula and Briggs. They chased after me, through the garage, out the door, across the driveway to the patch of trees. I could hear Lula's lumbering behind me, Briggs' swearing, but not one of us stopped until we hit the Mercedes and scrambled inside. I didn't start breathing again until I'd hit the door locks on my armor plated bulletproof foreign dignitary SUV. I slammed the car into gear and peeled away into the night.

All three of us were panting. "What happened?" Lula wanted to know. "Did you see Cubbin?"

"No, I saw the Yeti. He was watching television and he caught me creeping around. I think I wet my pants."

"Oh god! Your water didn't break did it?"

"No!"

"What are you talking about?" Briggs said. "Yeti's and water breaking? Did you have a stroke or something?"

"Or something," I said.

"Well I can't help it if that was a frightening experience," Lula said. "You're gettin' chased by Yetis and you're falling down and ripping out the knees on your pants and talking about wetness. I'm surprised Ranger's letting you do this at all with you being pregnant!"

"Whoa whoa whoa. She's pregnant?" Briggs said from the back seat.

"That's not supposed to be common knowledge," I said pointedly to Lula.

"But you are pregnant? And it's Ranger's? Isn't he the super scary one with the army of goons?"

"He's not that scary."

"The hell he's not. What on earth are you doing here?"

"My job."

"You need a new job."

"My job is fine, thank you very much. And not that it's your business, but I'm only thirteen weeks. That's barely pregnant. And if you tell anyone, I swear to god—"

"Don't worry. I'm not any more eager to talk about it than you are. How 'bout this. How 'bout I don't tell anyone your pregnant and you don't tell anyone fatso here shoved me and a mailbox."

"Deal."

ooo

I dropped Briggs and Lula at their cars and started for home. Realizing too late that I wasn't staying at home. I was staying at Rangeman. This wasn't an unusual occurrence, especially since Ranger and I had settled into what for all intents and purposes seemed like a relationship. It was just that I'd been resisting cohabitation with Ranger. Not because I didn't like living with him. Ranger was surprisingly easy to live with, especially when living with him came with an unlimited supply of orgasms. But I'd done the cohabitating thing before with Morelli, and it never went smoothly for very long. Eventually, his Italian temper and my Hungarian stubbornness would get the better of us, not to mention the smothering overprotectiveness when my life got dangerous. I didn't want that to happen with Ranger. And while Ranger and I saw eye to eye on more things and butted heads less often than Morelli and I ever did, I didn't want to test the boundaries of his patience.

I parked in the extra spot that Ranger left open for me and collected Connie's files and my leftovers. I'd decided to leave Tiki. He would be safe enough in the ultra-secure Rangeman garage and I didn't really feel like lugging a three-foot hunk of wood up to Ranger's apartment. I did check my .45 though. I wasn't sure what Ranger's consequences would be for finding it empty, but I was pretty sure it wouldn't go over well with my independent nature.

I fobbed my way up to seven and was surprised to find Ranger standing in the kitchen. "I thought you said you wouldn't be done until midnight."

"I heard back from the General in Asia and needed to speak to him on the secure line in my office. Figured I'd take a minute to grab a bite before I went back to Kinsey's." He scanned me, eyes settling on my knees. "Busy night?"

"I've had busier."

He held out his hand. Took me a second to realize he wanted my gun. He checked it to make sure it was loaded. "What were you and Lula up to at the industrial complex?"

No point asking how he knew where I'd been. The foreign dignitary SUV probably came with air support. "Norma Kruger moonlights at a place called The Clinic. It's billed as a post plastic surgery recovery facility, but as far as we can tell there aren't any clients. Lula, Randy Briggs and I broke in to see if they had Geoffrey Cubbin on ice in one of their rooms."

"You took Briggs?"

"He was the one who opened the door for us after Lula stuffed him in the mail slot."

Ranger cut his eyes up from the gun, the edges crinkling. Batman got a mental picture. "I'm guessing Cubbin wasn't inside. What happened to your jeans?"

"I tripped on the last step when I was running down the stairs."

"Running from what?"

"The Yeti. He was sort of watching TV in the dayroom and saw me sneaking around."

"Did he have a stun gun again or was this more serious?"

"I don't think he was armed this time. I'd kind of surprised him."

He set the gun on the counter between us. "I'm getting the impression you didn't handle this in the careful manner that you'd promised. Did you even take your gun with you? Because I know you didn't put bullets in it until you were already in the garage."

"How do you know that?"

"Babe, every public space in this building is monitored. I watched you on the security camera."

"It wasn't like The Clinic was full of armed assailants."

"No, just one very big Yeti. Are those your case files?"

I failed to hold in a sigh and handed them over. Ranger took a moment to flip through them. His face too blank to read any flitting hints of micro expressions that might betray his thoughts. He looked up at me over the files. "What are your instincts saying?"

"That this is bigger than a couple disappearing patients. Lula thinks it might be a full-scale operation. New face, new identity."

"A permanent disappearing service."

"Exactly."

"And what do you think?"

"Honestly? I'm not sure. The Clinic was really creepy, but that could have just been because I was sneaking around at night. It was all set up for business. It had offices, a lab, an emergency room, patient rooms. Just no patients." He was still infuriatingly hard to read. "I thought you might be working your way toward mad."

"I'm not mad that you're taking risks, Babe. I know you're capable of extraordinary things when you put your mind to it. But I can't say I'm happy that you're not taking cost/benefit into account. As fun as I'm sure it was to stuff Briggs into a metal chute, there were easier, safer ways to do recon."

"Seemed like overkill to call in the cavalry."

"Babe, is your pride really worth your life?"

I didn't think there was any point answering that.

"I'm assigning Hal to you for the next week."

"Oh come on! It's not like I ended up in a shootout. I don't need a babysitter."

"It's just a safety measure Steph, not a punishment. Hal won't be your babysitter, he'll be your backup. You'll still call the shots."

"He'll have to follow my orders?"

"Within reason."

"So if I order him to stay in the car…"

"He'll do it if he has a justifiable belief that you'll be safe. But it'll be reported back to me."

"I knew there was a catch."

"Would you rather have Tank?"

"Nope. Hal's fine. I'll take Hal."

"Good choice."


	23. Chapter 23

AU of Notorious 19, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Three

Hal was waiting for me in the garage when I came down the next morning. Standing at attention next to my Mercedes Benz. Hal was one of the younger guys on Ranger's team. He wasn't particularly bright, but he tried hard, and he came with the added bonus of not being as scary as a lot of Ranger's other men. Hal didn't have prison tattoos or the hard demeanor of someone who'd been arrested multiple times for assault.

I beeped open the doors and he slid obligingly into the passenger seat without a word. I angled in beside him. "So. How's it going?"

"I'm here instead of on the fleet monitor, so pretty good."

"Did Ranger explain how this was supposed to work?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Jeez, don't call me ma'am. It's weird."

He faltered for a second. We'd been friends of sorts for a few years now, but I'm not all that convinced he's ever been particularly comfortable with me. I think it was the considerable pressure of my belonging to Ranger. Hal idolized Ranger. Being on casual terms with Ranger's woman put Hal on eggshells. "Look, this'll be painless," I assured him. "We're not going after any serial killers today and I don't have a price on my head. We're just going to stop by my apartment to collect a few things, pick up Lula at the bonds office, and then we're probably going after a prostitute who looks like an apple dumpling."

Hal cut me a look like I was playing some sort of practical joke on him, but he didn't say anything. Ookaay. I put the car in gear and eased out of my spot in Ranger's personal fleet. Boy, this was going to be real fun. I could tell.

I turned toward Hamilton and parked near the backdoor of my apartment building. Took the elevator to the second floor. There was a note on my door.

 _Fear not. I will cleanse you of the evil. You will burn and your soul will flee the body he's contaminated._

Cold fingers skated down my body and crawled into my stomach. It was a sensation I was all too familiar with. The visceral reaction to the criminally insane. Hal went ridged beside me. Unholstered his weapon. Kept it pointed low and tight while I unlocked the door and pushed it open. Didn't take long for him to sweep the whole apartment. Nothing was disturbed. You know, apart for the person who tacked the note to my door. I called Ranger. "Hal and I just found a note on my apartment," I told him. Trying not to sound freaked out. I read it to him.

"Something similar came through the mail this morning. You'll want to be extra vigilant. If this pattern holds it'll only continue to escalate the closer we get to the wedding."

Which reminded me. I hadn't gone to the bridal shop to try on the bridesmaid dress yet. I might prefer being burned alive. "Why does he think you contaminated me?"

"Mental illness is rarely rational."

"Do you think he knows?"

"Doubt it. I'm sure there would have been specific mention of devil's spawn if he did. Just trust your instincts and make use of Hal. Then come home safe to my secured building. You'll be fine."

I said goodbye to Ranger and gathered up a few more days' worth of clothes. Trying very hard to believe that. Ranger had faith in me. I could have faith in me too. I locked up and took my massive shadow down the elevator again. I had him doublecheck the Mercedes for firebombs before we got in and drove to the bonds office.

Connie had found the address for Franz Sunshine, the owner of the holding company that owned The Clinic, so after we'd made Hal nab sweet and clueless Dottie, we went to see him. He insisted The Clinic was an investment property that he'd bought on the cheap, with no other purpose than sitting empty until he felt like selling it. But if that were true, they wouldn't need a nurse or a surgeon or a biochemist on staff.

I called Grandma again to see if she'd managed to find out any names attached to the Geoffrey Cubbin attempted kidnapping plot. She pointed me toward the only Cranberry Manor resident that had a car. Bill Smoot and his friends had planned to sneak onto the Central Hospital surgical floor and strongarm Cubbin into telling them where the money was. This plan had hit two major snags. The first and most obvious flaw being that they were all in their 70s and 80s and probably couldn't swing a cane let alone beat up a man, even if he'd recently had his appendix out. The other was that when they got to the floor after visiting hours, Cubbin was already gone.

I was pretty frustrated by that point, so I drown my pregnancy cravings in some pizza. And when we had some left over, I decided to take it over to check on Susan Cubbin.

Susan hadn't had any luck either and her patience was wearing thin. She'd already decided she was breaking into Nurse Kruger's to root out her no good husband, who she was absolutely sure was in there. It was a pretty disappointing venture all around. Not only didn't we find Cubbin, I didn't even get to see a real life sex dungeon.

I drove Lula back to the office and turned the Mercedes toward Rangeman. I'd mostly managed to forget about the threatening note, but now that the day's antics were behind me I was both nervous and grateful that I wouldn't have to stay the night in the place that had been marked by crazy. I parked in my usual spot and said goodbye to Hal, then took the elevator up to seven. I was in the kitchen feeding Rex a baby carrot when I heard Ranger come through the front door. He paused in the entry, faint rattle of keys and gun on the metal tray, and then his energy approached me from behind. His warm arms circled my waist, his chest brushing against my back. He kissed my neck. "How was your day with Hal?"

"Pretty good. He apprehended a fifty-year-old suburban housewife turned attempted prostitute and then masqueraded as a brothel enforcer before he helped us break into Norma Kruger's condo."

Ranger stilled, his mouth still on my neck. I could feel him smiling. "A brothel enforcer?"

"Lula was fishing for information on The Clinic from the owner and that was the angle she came up with. I thought for sure you would have gotten a report."

"The report said you talked to Sunshine. It didn't say anything about brothel enforcement."

"Hal needs to work on his details."

"Did you find anything useful at Kruger's?"

"You mean like Geoffrey Cubbin in a sex harness and ball gag?"

"Was that an option?"

"You haven't met Norma Kruger."

One of his hands slid up my shirt, caressing my bra. A silent laugh tickling my neck. "What _did_ you find?"

"Mostly lacey underwear and Cosmo magazines." My body was feeling uncomfortable in a very nice way the more he touched me. Aching in places that desperately wanted his attention. "What about you?"

"I was able to account for every man in my unit, which rules out the easy answers. Now I'm trying to track down a missing piece of the puzzle." I felt his tongue on my pulse point and full on melted. He stripped my shirt off me, flicking my bra strap off my shoulder for better access. His hand filled my cup, the other one searching lower, mouth latched to my neck in a way that curled my toes. I grabbed onto his thigh to steady me and felt him press into my lower back, rock hard. "Do you want to move this to the bedroom, or is that too far?" his velvet voice said in my ear.

"What if we corrupt Rex's fragile mind?" I panted.

Ranger stripped off his own shirt in answer and tossed it over Rex's cage, then pushed my pants down to my knees and filled me from behind. My skin felt too small for my body, ripe and overheated. His hands anchoring me to him. His mouth on my neck again. I leaned into his chest and his lips finally reached mine. The depth of passion only overwhelmed by the glow between us. It wasn't until the rushing waves had come and gone that I realized my feet weren't on the floor. His body literally cradling mine in trembling aftershock. He eased me down, nuzzling my neck with his smile. Soothed the sensitive skin with his tongue, a laugh deep in his throat. "I may have given you a hickey that time."

"Jeez, really?"

He shrugged, kissing the mark again. "It's even better than having my name on your breast."

ooo

I was wrapped up in warm Ranger and Bulgari Green when I woke the next morning. The heavenly bed the second best temptation to avoiding the start of my day. This was my favorite part of staying at Rangeman. Living with Ranger was easy, and the sex was mind-blowingly incredible, but really it was the quiet moments that I liked the best. The soft sounds of his even breathing. The gentle hands curled around my breast or resting between my thighs. The sweet, meaningful kisses, like I was the most magnetic thing is his world.

He called in for breakfast and then made gentle love to me. Amused again when he kissed the mark he'd made on my neck last night. I didn't get a good look at it until we were out of the shower. It was big and very red and most definitely a hickey. Ranger laughed. "I hope you're not intending to cover it up."

"August is a little too warm for turtlenecks."

"Good thing. I like the idea of you walking around with my mark on you." He kissed it and then dropped his towel. Walking toward his closet without any sense of modesty. Ranger was comfortable with his body. I was comfortable with his body too. But no matter how much I loved being naked with him in the moment, I'll admit I still wasn't completely comfortable just walking around like that. Something about an overdeveloped sense of modesty and good old-fashioned Catholic guilt.

The silver breakfast tray was on the kitchen table when we came out to eat, complete with matching silver coffee set and a single pink long-stemmed rose. You would have never known it by looking at him, but Ranger lived in a level of sophistication and comfort that most people dream of. He ate off fine china dishes and used crystal stemware. Not that he'd picked any of it out himself. He lived well by Ella's choice, not his. But it still made being at Rangeman all the more pleasant.

There was a good selection spread out on the silver serving dishes. Everything from bagels and lox to omelets and whole wheat toast. I chose a piece of toast and spread a liberal amount of jam on it from the little glass pot.

Ranger reached for the mail.

I'd known Ranger a long time. Whenever Ranger looked through his mail, it was always sorted into two piles. Junk Mail and Open Later. Apparently Ranger never got mail that fit into the NOW! category. Which was why when he set the rest of the mail down and ripped open one of the envelopes it got my thorough and immediate attention. "What is it?"

"Another message."

He didn't elaborate further.

Jeez.

"What does it say?"

His eyes cut up to me, reading my apprehension. Maybe deciding if I really wanted to know. "It says 'she will die because of your evil.'"

"Boy, this guy's a barrel of laughs."

Ranger didn't respond. He just stared at me, his thoughts his own.

"Look, I'm staying in your apartment in your secure building, right? And I've got Hal."

"And you're carrying a gun and it's loaded. Right?"

"As much as I hate it, yes."

"You don't have to like it, Steph. But you do have to be willing to use it. Would you like to schedule some range time as a refresher? Might make you more comfortable."

"I'm good."

"You could be better."

"How about I think about it and let you know if I change my mind."

ooo

Hal and I rolled into the bonds office at a decent but not entirely early hour. Found Lula, Connie, and a box of donuts inside. I made a beeline for the donuts. Living with Ranger came with some serious perks, but donuts was _not_ one of them. I put a powder covered jelly filled in my mouth and got some funny looks. "What?" I asked around my mouthfull.

"Nothin'," Lula said. "It's just I ain't never seen a lady makin' out with a pastry before."

I rolled my eye. "Anything new?" I asked Connie.

She handed me a napkin for the jelly on my chin. "Arthur Beasley missed his court date. He's charged with indecent exposure. It's a small bond but he should be easy to find. He works at the nudie beach in Atlantic City."

Lula perked up. "There's a nudie beach in Atlantic City? I never heard that."

"I have an address," Connie said. "I think it's new. It's attached to a casino. But I haven't looked into it any more than that. I've seen the people that go to Atlantic City. No way I'd want to see any of them naked."

"Anybody else?" I asked.

"Lauren Lazar. She got high on one of those new designer drugs and tried to sell her little sister to the night manager of the convenience store on Hyland for Little Debbie Snack cakes."

"I get that," Lula said. "Sometimes I think about doing all kinds of shit for those Little Debbies."

I was brushing powdered sugar off my boobs and eyeing a Boston Kreme when my phone buzzed. It was Briggs. "Jeez, you gotta help me. I finally get a halfway decent job and it turns to doodie right in front of me. Of all the friggin' unbelievable—"

"Randy, calm down. I can't understand you."

"I friggin' lost another one!"

"Another patient?"

"Yes! He disappeared in the middle of the night just like Cubbin and I'm freaking out. I've got cops all over the hospital and reporters camped out in the lobby—"

"Reporters? Who did you lose?"

"Elwood Pitch."

Oh boy. Elwood Pitch was a state legislator who'd been arrested for human trafficking. He was caught driving a U-Haul crammed with girls ages nine to fourteen. The girls had been smuggled in from Mexico and told they'd be working as prostitutes. Like Cubbin, Pitch was awaiting trial.

"Did Pitch get his appendix removed?" I asked Briggs.

"No, he was admitted with stomach pains and kept overnight for observation. I looked at all the security videos and checked the whole floor, every closet, cabinet, bathroom. I even looked under the beds. He's just friggin' gone!"

"So what do you want me to do about it?"

"I want you to get down here and keep me from blowing my brains out."

"Why me?"

"Because you're the only one who cared about this before it was friggin' Elwood Pitch, and because I figured you might be getting some maternal instincts and you might go easy on me."

"Cripes, I thought we weren't going to talk about it."

"Desperate times."

"Fine. I'm on my way."

"Where are we going?" Lula wanted to know.

"Central Hospital. They just lost another patient to mysterious circumstances, and it happened to be Elwood Pitch. Briggs is having a meltdown and wants me to hold his hand."

"I don't see that being a situation that needs my particular brand of flair. If you don't need me I'd just as soon stay here with the box of donuts and away from the hospital cooties."

Guess it was just me and Hal. "Did Vinnie bond out Pitch?" I asked Connie.

"Yes. And it was a really high bond."


	24. Chapter 24

AU of Notorious 19, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Four

I parked at Central, Hal in the passenger seat beside me, but hesitated when I caught a glimpse of Tiki in the backseat. I knew it wasn't likely that Logan would find me in the parking garage, but it didn't seem like a risk worth taking. And locking him in the cargo area seemed cruel for some reason. That was how Hal got the order to stand in the hall outside of Briggs' office holding a three foot Hawaiian woodcarving.

I was trying to get Briggs to calm down when the door opened and Joe Morelli came in. Joe was in a blue collared shirt, nice jeans, and running shoes. His gun clipped to his belt and his thick black hair looking sexy and a week past needing a cut. He didn't look surprised to see me. But then, Hal in the hall was probably a dead giveaway to my presence. His warm, whiskey eyes scanned me thoroughly as he slouched into the empty chair. "You got anything yet?"

"Great, now it's a party," Briggs said.

"Are you working missing persons?" I asked Morelli.

"I'm working Pitch. He was my collar and I'm not happy that he's disappeared. I worked for months with ICE to bring him down. I pulled four nine-year-old girls out of that truck. They were terrified and dehydrated and one of them was unconscious. They were smuggled into the country in a cargo container and then locked in that truck for ten hours. This is personal for me."

God, I couldn't imagine. My hand made an instinctive move to my belly. Morelli's eyes followed. The serious mixed with something tender and sad.

Briggs shifted uncomfortably. "Jeez, this isn't gonna get awkward, is it? Seeing as you two used to be a thing, and now she's… you know."

Morelli brushed him with a shrewd look. "You told Briggs?"

"Lula kind of let it spill. And no. It's not awkward. There's no awkward."

"Say it enough times maybe it'll be true," Briggs said under his breath.

I scolded him with my eyes. "We all have a stake in finding Pitch. Morelli caught him, you lost him, and Vinnie's on the hook if he isn't found. We can be grownups about this."

I wasn't sure real grownups used the term 'grownups', but cripes I was ready to move on. Thankfully Morelli backed my play. "Walk me through this. What do I need to know?"

"There were two nurses on duty," Briggs said. "Norma Kruger and Julie Marconni."

"The same nurses that were on duty when Cubbin disappeared," I said.

Briggs nodded. "The times were the same too. Kruger checked on Pitch at two in the morning and he was asleep. Then when she went in just before her shift ended at seven, he was gone."

"I was on the floor," Morelli said. "There are security cameras covering all the exits. He has to be on the video."

"I looked through it twice, I didn't see him."

"Mind if we take a look?"

Briggs pulled up four different feeds and ran them through for us in sync. We watched the footage at an accelerated speed. Digesting it a moment when we ran out of footage. "Well?" Briggs said.

Morelli and I exchanged a look. No one had left the floor. Not even a shadow. "Is there something else I should be looking at here?" Morelli asked me.

"I talked to Norma Kruger, but I never got to Julie Marconni. If I were you I'd talk to both. I'm pretty certain that Kruger is involved somehow. Cubbin's wife stalked her briefly and found a sketchy clinic where she works two hours a day without any sign of patients, and she's got more money than I can account for. I have a feeling you might be able to make better headway with her than I did. Just be careful. I'm pretty sure she bites."

That finally got Morelli to smile a little. "Anything else?" he asked Briggs.

"Nope. Everything else I got is bupkis."

Morelli thanked him for his time and opened the door, letting me lead the way into the hall. He cut a glance to Hal and Tiki, then took my elbow in hand and tugged me around the corner into an empty corridor. He put my back on a wall, leaning close. "Why am I getting a bad feeling that there's something bigger going on here?"

"It's probably because I've got Hal with me."

"It's not just Hal. Though I would like to know the specific instance that prompted Ranger to give you a shadow."

"Lula, Briggs and I investigated the clinic where Kruger works and Ranger thought we could have been more efficient about it. But it's not a big deal. Hal's not a babysitter. He's just some added muscle."

"And why is it Ranger thinks you need muscle all of a sudden? He's been letting you run around after skips for weeks."

"He doesn't _let_ me do anything."

"Poor choice of words."

The squinty eyed glare I was giving him took a lot of effort to maintain in the cozy corridor. It had been months since we'd been this close to each other and I was having trouble reconciling that with the reality of the circumstances. For the briefest moment, he seemed to forget too. His eyes warmed a little before he guarded them again. "So why is it you need extra muscle all of a sudden?"

I let out a sigh and told him about the Yeti. And once I'd started talking it all just sort of tumbled out. I told him about Kinsey, and the fire, and the whole soul-leaving-my-body thing. It was like I'd been carrying a weight on my shoulders that I'd finally been able to put down. Joe paused a moment to take it all in, a hint of worry the only sign leaking through his cop face.

"And you feel confident that Ranger's got it handled?"

This was said with a tiny thread of doubt, but I don't think I was supposed to hear that part. "I do. I think he's trying his best not to smother me. And he's trusting me to take care of my end and back him up. It's just a little overwhelming sometimes."

"Yeah, I know the feeling," he said under his breath, eyes dropping down to my belly. They flicked back to mine like they hadn't moved. "Are you gonna be okay working this with me?"

"With you?"

"Well, I figured you're as interested in finding Pitch as I am. And finding Pitch could help you find Cubbin. Might be more efficient if we work together."

Oh boy. I had my doubts about that. Dating Morelli had gone pretty well for the most part. And living with him had been okay when taken in small doses. But we'd worked together before and I couldn't say it ever ended particularly smoothly. Morelli was a good man and a great cop, but he had a tendency to work alone and he wasn't always the best at sharing leads or information. And yet, looking into the touch of tender in his whiskey eyes it was hard to ignore the feelings that had always been between us. I'd known Joe my whole life, and I knew he loved me. There was a part of me that loved him too. Even if things had gotten unbearably complicated.

The tender look warmed again, melting his eyes to chocolate. He tucked a curl behind my ear. Brushing my hair back as his gaze drifted down to my lips. Then he paused. Tilting his head to see my neck. "Is that a hickey?"

"Would you believe I burned myself with a curling iron?"

"Cupcake, I of all people know what a hickey looks like. In fact, I've put more than a few of them on your body myself. But I usually aimed for places that wouldn't been seen by other people."

"He got a little carried away."

Joe looked pain, like he'd gotten a mental picture. He moved back. "Christ," he whispered, staring at his shoes a second. When he looked up again, the cop was back in place. "We should go talk to the nurses. Do you want to ride shotgun with me, or do you need to ride with Hal?"

"Actually, it's probably better if you interview them without me. I'll catch up with you later this afternoon."

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

ooo

I collected Hal and Tiki and drove back to the bonds office. "Did you find anything?" Connie wanted to know.

"Not yet. We all looked at the security footage, but we didn't see anything helpful."

"Who's _we all_?"

"Pitch was Morelli's collar. He wants to work together."

Connie and Lula swung looks at each other.

"What?"

"I didn't say anything."

"But you did a look. I know that look. That's the Stephanie's bit off more than she can chew look."

"Well. You and Morelli don't have the best history of working together," Connie pointed out.

"Didn't he have to stop carrying a gun last time so he wouldn't shoot you?" Lula said.

"And there's the way things ended."

"The way he looks at you like he's got all kinda unresolved feelings."

"And then there's Ranger."

"Yeah, I don't see Ranger bein' excited about you workin' with your ex. And what the heck is Morelli thinkin' anyway? You dumped his ass so you could bumpin' uglies with Ranger, though I personally doubt anything on Ranger is ugly, he probly got a package like Christmas morning."

"Jesus Christ," Hal murmured from his position by the bay windows. He'd turned red enough to worry about an aneurism. "I'm gonna do a patrol. Outside."

"Keep an eye out for Brody Logan," I told him. He might have nodded, but mostly he beat a hasty retreat. I waited until the door swung shut. "I know it's complicated."

"Geometry is complicated," Lula said. "This here's like theoretical physics. Don't nobody understand that shit. You got a bat-bun in the oven and you're gonna run around with Morelli?"

"It'll be fine. I've got it handled." At least I hoped I had it handled. "And it's not like I've got a choice. We're after the same guy. And Morelli might be helpful. It's not like I've been making a ton of progress on my own."

"As long as none of us get caught in the crossfire," Lula said.

"How'd the fitting go?" Connie asked me in a show of saintly mercy.

Crap. "I forgot about it."

"That's probly your subconscious tellin' you you don't want to do it."

I didn't need my subconscious to tell me that. "I'll go now. And then I'm going to Atlantic City to get the guy at the nudie beach."

Lula popped out of her seat. "I don't wanna miss either of those things. I'll go with you."

ooo

The bridal shop was on Hamilton, not far from the Tasty Pastry bakery. I'd been there before on the other excruciating occasions when I'd been a bridesmaid. It wasn't an experience that improved with repetition. The main part of the store was divided into two sections. Bridal and bridesmaid. We had to walk through bridal to get to the fitting rooms.

Since my ill-fated marriage to Dickie Orr, I've never been particularly interested in all things bridal. They left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Objectively, I understood that most of this was guilt by association. I'd even let my mother talk me into trying on a wedding gown or two during a confusing stint of being almost engaged to Morelli. But even when I was dressed in white complete with veil and potential groom, I'd still been way more scared than I was excited. Which is why I was weirded out when walking through the bridal gowns, some of the gowns gave me warm fuzzies. I shook it off as pregnancy hormones and followed on to the fitting rooms, trying really hard to ignore it.

I was too afraid to look at the bridesmaid dress until it was already on me. I just about died. There were acers of sickly pink taffeta, complete with puffy sleeves and a giant bow on my ass. Thank god Hal had agreed to stay in the car with Tiki. Now if only Lula had stayed in the car. "That is the ugliest dress I've ever seen."

"Jeez, it's not that bad, is it?"

"It makes you look like one of them girls from Little House on the Prairie."

"I'm sure it will be beautiful once we take it in a little," the salon owner said.

"Just don't make it too tight around the tummy," Lula reminded. "Stephanie's been practicin' for some eatin' contests and she needs the belly room."

I thought about correcting her, since that wasn't a self-image I wanted to own. But then I thought about the sexy black dress that had fit different only hours after buying it. I could sacrifice a little dignity to avoid looking like a pregnant flamingo.

We washed away the bad bridal juju with a round of donuts from Tasty Pastry before we took off for Atlantic City. We left Tiki in the parking garage and went down to the screened off beach area that protected the rest of the population from being forced to see 80-year-old testicles.

I showed the admissions lady my highly official looking internet badge. "Nope. Sorry. Nobody gets in without paying the $20 admission fee."

I tried to argue that I had a legal right if my FTA was in there. She wasn't having it. We needed admission. We backtracked to the concession stand and bought three tickets and enough food to stage an eating contest.

Huh. Maybe Lula was on to something.

We took our tickets back to the admissions lady and she pointed us to the locker rooms. "You can take your clothes off in there and store them in the lockers."

"No, we'll only be a minute. As I've already explained, we're here to apprehend Arthur Beasley. He missed his court date."

"Sorry, but this is an all nude beach. No clothing allowed."

"Are you suggesting I'd have to apprehend him naked? You understand he's a felon."

"Rules are rules."

"Where do you expect me to put my cuffs?" I asked her. Or hide my baby bump?

And then I thought of the other problem.

I looked at Hal. Hal was beat red again. He'd just realized it too.

Hal was assigned as my backup, which meant where I went, Hal was by the contract of his employment obligated to follow. Not to mention if something happened to me, Ranger would kick his ass. Also on the list for an ass kicking? Seeing Ranger's girlfriend naked. Which put Hal in a very tentative and unenviable position.

I could see the wheels turning as he analyzed the naked Stephanie version of the corn/chicken/fox riddle. Might have smelled smoke.

"How about," he said finally, "if you wait in the locker room and I go get Beasley."

Which would mean I didn't have to get naked at all. "Yep. That works for me."

"Hold up, though. I'm comin' with you," Lula said.

Hal's eyes got wide. That was only a slightly less frightening scenario.

Ten minutes of locker room pacing later, Lula showed up again grinning ear to ear. "You missed out. That was the experience of a lifetime. Not only was it impressive watching him catch a guy by the scruff of his nudie neck when he tried to run with his frank and bits flappin' and plant him face down on a tiki bar, but watchin' it all happen in the buff was a thrill. I'm tellin' you, Naked Hal was an eye poppin' sight. He got muscles places I ain't never seen muscles before."

"Jeez Louise, I really don't need to know."

"That's because you got some hang-up about being naked. See, I'm real comfortable with my body. I'm happy walkin' around naked."

"I can tell. Can you put some clothes on please so we can go?"

ooo

Thankfully, Hal had been able to get Beasley's clothes out of the men's locker room and I didn't have to deliver him to lockup in his birthday suit. I'd done it before, a lot, and it was never comfortable. I also seemed to be the only one unfortunate enough to have experienced it on repeated occasions.

I ran into Morelli near the processing desk. His sharp detective eyes taking in the details. "Why is your skip half-dressed and covered in sand?"

"We had to take him down at his work. He's a bartender at a nudie beach."

Morelli grinned. "You and Lula took down a naked guy on a nude beach? Was this an all nude group activity?"

"It was, but since I had Hal with me I got to sit this one out. One of the benefits of delegation."

Morelli choked on his laugh. "That's the best story I've heard all day."

"What were the other stories you heard today?"

"They weren't thrilling, I can tell you that much. Julie Marconni is a zombie. Between being a single mother to three kids and working the night shift she hasn't shut her eyes in six years. I wouldn't be shocked if she slept on the job. But then, she's responsible for half the patients on the floor and none of hers have gone missing."

"All the missing patients were Kruger's?"

"Yep. Five in three years."

"What did you get when you talked to her? Did she go full dominatrix and try to lure you into her sex dungeon?"

"No. Was that on the table?"

"Probably not. She doesn't really have a sex dungeon. I know, I looked."

Morelli had trouble figuring what I meant by that and decided he didn't want to know. "She wasn't forthcoming when I talked to her. She was defensive. Went from cautious to clammed up the second I showed her a badge. I think you're right. She's up to her armpits in something, I just don't have a handle yet on what it is."

I had an inkling, but it was too icky to say out loud.

Somebody popped their head out a doorway and called to Morelli. "Look I gotta run. I'll call you tomorrow," he said and pecked a familiar goodbye kiss to my lips without thinking. There was a second of shock, and then he lingered. Drawing out the moment before he pulled back. "I swear that was an accident."

"I—I believe you."

"It's just that us here, with the easy rhythm… felt like old times."

"It would be weird if it didn't."

"But that's not something…"

"Nope. It would be poaching."

"Right," he said, ruffling a hand through his thick hair. "Right, of course it would be. And that wouldn't… I'm just gonna…"

"Sure."

Morelli gave me a tight lipped smile and stepped back, turning down the hall. Nobody batted an eye in the station. They were all used to Morelli and me as a couple. They didn't know about Ranger yet. Or that we were having a baby together. The only one looking at me was Hal. Oh boy. "Is there any way we could not tell Ranger about that? I don't want him to hunt Morelli down."

He looked like he wanted to say that Ranger wouldn't. But stopped. He didn't know if Ranger would or not. And truth be told, neither did I.


	25. Chapter 25

AU of Notorious 19, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Five

I felt bad leaving Tiki in the parking garage overnight again, so I asked Hal the carry him up with us to five. Tank was in the control room when the doors opened. His dark eyes got even darker when they landed on Tiki. "No."

"It's just wood," I told him.

The stone expression he gave me was impenetrable.

The no stands.

Jeez.

"Want me to take it back to the car?" Hal asked me.

I sighed. "That's okay. Give him to me. I'll take him up to seven."

Hal looked doubtful that Ranger would enjoy having a mischievous tiki in his personal space, but he passed it to me anyway. It was heavier than I remembered. He smiled in apology and stepped off, and then I hit the button on my key fob and sent the elevator up.

I unlocked the door to the cool, crisp atmosphere of Ranger's apartment and debated what to do with Tiki. I decided the den was the most out of the way. I set him on the sofa and flicked on the television, then I went into the kitchen. Ranger came home a few minutes later. He paused. Amused. "Did you turn on the TV for a Hawaiian woodcarving?"

Oh. Cripes, I did. "It was a reflex."

"You didn't want the hunk of wood to get bored?"

I shrugged in a way I hoped was cute. "I'm a good hostess."

Ranger thought about smiling and flicked off the television. "Anything turn up yet on Pitch?"

"No. There was nothing on the security cameras. No witnesses. I'd say it's like he's turned into smoke, but that would have set off the fire alarms. It's frustrating hitting this many dead ends."

"Might go easier now that Morelli's on board."

I tried to ignore the guilty feeling. "Lula and Connie thought you might be upset about me working with Morelli."

"I don't have a problem if you don't. Morelli's a good cop. I have assets and access to information most civilians don't, but I'm not an investigator and I have my own obligations. Morelli will be more useful. And I'm not about to complain about an extra gun on your 6."

"Were you able to find that missing puzzle piece?"

"At the moment I'm more in the figuring out where it's not stage, which suggests it's more than a paranoid delusion. I haven't been able to confirm anything."

"Did you get any more messages?"

"Yeah. 'Your reckoning will not come easy,' and 'the flames will cleanse this world of you and accompany you to Hell.' Whoever this freak is, he has a lot of anger."

"I can understand anger. I had to try on a bridesmaid dress today. It's pink. And it has a big bow over my ass."

Finally cracked a smile. "I can't wait to see it."

His phone buzzed and the smile was gone. He looked at the readout. "PD and Fire were just dispatched to Amanda Olesen's townhouse. Reports say there was an explosion."

"Omigod!"

ooo

Ranger

Ranger hit Kinsey's number and pressed the phone to his ear. Listening to the ring. Line opened on the third. "We're clear," Kinsey answered, stress in his voice under the operational control. "We were in the back of the house when it smashed through the front window. Took out the entire living room."

"You identify it?"

"Didn't have a clear line of sight, but the size and scale says rocket propelled grenade. From the scent I'm guessing homemade." He paused. The silence loaded. "Seemed eerily familiar. In a way I thought wasn't possible."

"I know what you mean. There are too many specifics to just be coincidence. I've got someone running it down on the other side. In the meantime, I have a safehouse waiting for you."

"I might just take you up on that. Amanda's pretty freaked out. Enough that even she's starting to wonder if this is all worth it."

"She thinking about cancelling?"

"Right now it's the adrenaline talking. As much as I'd love to cancel and elope, the big fancy wedding has been her dream since she was little. I'd hate for one sadistic son of a bitch to take that away from her."

Ranger understood that too. It was a delicate balance, trying to protect your loved one and her dreams at the same time. "Keep me updated." Kinsey acknowledged and Ranger disconnected.

"Are they still going through with the wedding?" Steph asked him.

"They're trying to decide."

"They should definitely cancel. It's too dangerous."

"You're just trying to get out of wearing the pink dress."

"True. So do we need to go over there?"

"I already have two men on scene with first responders. Since nobody was hurt they'll be able to handle it."

Stephanie's phone rang. Dillan, her building's super. She answered, and then her eyes went round and her mouth fell open. "Son of a bitch!"

ooo

It wasn't the first time Stephanie's apartment had been firebombed. Far from it. In fact, it had happened so many times that her building manager had a procedure. Which meant his quick response time and years of practice got the fire out before it had spread beyond the living room and kitchen. She'd lost her crappy second-hand television, the couch she hated, and her single cooking pot. The rest of her clothes and personal effects had minor smoke damage, but nothing so bad that Ella couldn't fix it. And as luck would have it, the thousand-dollar shoes remained unscathed.

He walked the scorched remains of her living room while she collected her things, examining the fractured remnants of the incendiary device that had punched through her living room window. It wasn't crude in the way you'd expect from homemade. This had been crafted by an expert. Someone with a gift for munitions. Everything from the case to what survived of the wiring looked familiar. Ghost from another life.

Then he heard a muffled sob coming through the closed bedroom door.

Ranger excused himself and left Woody with the fire marshal. Went to find Steph in her bedroom. Tears were leaking down her face when he stepped inside and closed the door. Shame crossed her eyes. She thought blubbering over her apartment would make her look weak. He scooped her up and held her close. Brushing a gentle kiss to her lips. "We'll fix it, Babe."

"You can't fix it! It's not just the apartment, it's my life! It's a train wreck. I'm a freaking natural disaster!"

"It's not that bad."

"You're not the one who has rockets getting shot into your living room," she bawled. "I don't want to get poisoned or cremated or put in pink taffeta. I don't want to destroy armor plated SUVs. But no matter what I do I still get cut on glass and almost stunned, and now on top of all of it I'm homeless!"

"You're not homeless," he said softly. Cuddling her close. "I've already talked to Dillon. He said it'll take a couple weeks to repair and repaint, but as soon as that's done you can move back in. Good as new."

"Just like last time, and the time before that, and the time before that."

"Stephanie," he said. She paused, a cute little hiccup breaking the tears. Wasn't used to him using her full name. He lifted her chin until he could see her tearstained eyes. "If anyone can handle this it's you. I have no doubt."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I've known you long enough to see it. You fall down and always get back up. You face evil and shrug it off with wit and snark. You run headlong into trouble when saner people tuck tail and run."

"I run sometimes too."

"That just proves you're not stupid."

She snuffled a little, tears gone. "Did you just call me crazy?"

"You're not full blow crazy, but you are on the spectrum," he said, kissing her bottom lip when she pouted. "It's one of the things I love best about you. Also, the stubborn rebellious streak turns me on."

She cracked a smile. "Really? I would have thought you found that exasperating."

"Oh I do. But I never said I didn't like it." He kissed her one more time before he gave one of her crazy curls a tug and let her go. He helped her gather her things and had his men carry it all down to the fleet vehicles. Drove it home to Rangeman.

Ranger and Stephanie had lived together before, more times than he'd kept track of. In his apartment. Hers. A love nest in Hawaii where they'd conceived a child. But those had always been temporary. Usually only a few days at a time. There was something different about moving every one of her worldly possessions into his apartment. A level of intimacy he hadn't expected.

He left the basket of clothing in the entry for Ella and brought her other things into his den. Unsure what she was going to do with them. If history was any indicator, she wasn't likely to put them away. Steph always resisted putting down any semblance of roots in his space. But then, they were looking at at least a few weeks of living together until her apartment was livable again. Time would tell if she would settle in or hate him by the time that was an option again.

"I wish we knew who was doing this," she said.

So did he. Because all signs were pointing in a direction he wasn't comfortable with. "I've ruled out every man in my unit but one. And he's supposed to be dead. Orin Carr was the unit demo expert. He was reported killed in Afghanistan, but there are pieces of information in some of the notes that only Orin would know. Orin was the unit whackjob. He would walk through minefields with his eyes closed because he thought he had divine protection."

"How did he feel about fire?"

"He loved fire. He said it was the great purifier."

"What does that mean, he's supposed to be dead? That doesn't sound like an easy mistake to make."

"I'm still trying to piece that together. The report said he and four other soldiers were in a convoy vehicle that came under fire. They took a direct hit from an RPG and flipped off the road. There was so little left they had to identify body parts using DNA."

"Jeez." She tried best she could to push the imagery away. "So, assuming he survived somehow, how close would you be to catching him?"

"So far there's no trail to follow. One of the problems of tracking a dead man."

"So what do we do?"

"Stay safe. Hope something breaks before there are any more casualties."

"How bad is this going to get?"

Ranger hesitated. Fighting a secret whisper of fear. Steph didn't know the man he used to be. Reckless, arrogant, coldly efficient. Giving her a glimpse at that part of his life was a huge risk. If there was ever a way to scare off Stephanie Plum…

"Orin was the kind of guy who tortured bugs," he said at last. "Pulled their legs and wings off one at a time. It was like foreplay for Orin, leading up to the kill. We were all thrill junkies but Orin was pathological. He got his thrills from the fear and suffering of his victims. He liked the kill, but it was almost anticlimactic for him."

Not like it had been for Ranger. For him, the fear and suffering had been a necessary evil. The tool they were given to get the intel needed to save lives and end conflicts. He'd never taken any more pleasure in it than he did the kill. The rush of combat, though. Behind enemy lines, every breath might be your last, doing the impossible. That was the part that had thrilled him. The rest was the red in his ledger.

"He was that crazy when you were serving together?" she asked, ignoring the admission.

"There were signs. Orin was a good man to have on your side, and a very bad enemy. We all slept with one eye open. Not just for whatever was out there, but for Orin."

"Boy. The life you have now must seem tame compared to that."

"It has its moments. I did just move in with a crazy pregnant lady."

That got him a dagger glare so cute he laughed. He caught her by the hand and plastered her against him, gratified when she molded eager and boneless into his body.

He always woke long before Stephanie did. Never been one to need more than a few hours of sleep. He dressed in shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt and went down to the gym. Tank met him there at six for their regular sparing session. His big friend picked up his pads and took a ready stance. "You still have that thing of Stephanie's on seven?"

"You mean the Hawaiian tiki? Yeah, it's up there."

"Gives me the heeby jeebies," Tank said, swinging at him. Ranger caught him with a kick and a knee, both blocked by the pads. He reset. "You really think it's Carr?"

"It's the only thing that makes sense." They went another round and this time Ranger caught a blow to the ribs. Tank was quick for a big man. "We'll need to do a bomb sweep of the church before both rehearsal and wedding," Ranger said, readjusting the straps on his gloves. "And I'd like two men on it every hour between. Orin was a genius with explosives. Somewhere between artist and savant. He could bring down the whole building with charges smaller than a pack of gum."

"Do we need to worry about projectiles?"

"I wouldn't be comfortable ruling it out, but it's not likely. The issue he has with me is personal. He's trying to punish me. Starting on the outside. Working in. When he gets serious he'll want to do it up close and personal. He'll want to see the pain and terror in their eyes. It's how he gets satisfaction."

Tank swung at him again and that time Ranger laid him out. The big man was grinning when Ranger offered him a hand to pull him up. Ranger's phone buzzed. He pulled off his sparing gloves to check it.

Bridal Salon. Why the hell were they calling him. "Yes?" he answered as politely as he could.

"Mr. Manoso, I was just calling about Ms. Plum's dress. She was in yesterday for her fitting, but I only just realized she wasn't wearing heels when we measured her hemline. She was wearing sneakers. This dress needs to be worn with matching pink shoes. Does Ms. Plum own pink shoes?"

Ranger could feel Tank's eyes on his back, the smile implicit. He could hear every word in the silent gym. Fantastic. And the worst part was, Ranger had just seen every one of Stephanie's possessions. No pink shoes. "I'll have her look and call you back."

"I'd appreciate it. It's really very vital. The hem was measured with the sneakers. It will be too short if she wears anything taller."

"Of course. Have a nice day." He waited until the bridal shop lady thanked him again and then hung up. Tank was beaming behind him. "Any idea why the bridal shop has my personal number?"

"If I had to guess, it would probably be that Kinsey's fiancée didn't have Stephanie's number when she made the appointment."

And Steph hadn't given it to her either because she hated the place with a burning passion. Yet another joy in the complications Stephanie brought to his life.

Damn. If only the complication wasn't completely worth it.


	26. Chapter 26

AU of Notorious 19, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Six

Steph

Ranger woke me with seductive kisses to the back of my neck and an invitation to join him in the shower. It was an even better way to start the day than coffee. I was very relaxed and happy by the time we got to the towel drying. "Should we call in for breakfast?" I asked him, enjoying the attention.

"I wish I could stay for breakfast, but I have a full day. This might be the only chance I have to see you."

"Couldn't pass up the opportunity for morning sex?"

Hint of grin. "Morning sex does make the day better. I'm going to need Hal today, so I'm giving you Nollen. He's only just requalified for active duty, so go easy on him. And I got a call from the lady at the bridal salon. She wanted to remind you that you were wearing sneakers for the fitting and asked if you had any pink shoes. She was very insistent the dress be worn with pink shoes."

I couldn't hold the laugh in. "Did she say anything else?"

"Babe, it's not funny. I think my testosterone level dropped just saying it."

"Wait. In about six months you'll be talking about spit up and breastfeeding too. Big Bad Ranger vs Diaper Rash."

"For the record, I'll take any excuse to talk about your breasts Babe," he said, kissing my lips. "And childcare is in no way the same as talking to the bridal salon lady about shoes. Get it sorted out so she doesn't call me again."

Ranger got dressed and I walked him to the door, pressed to the wall for one more delicious kiss before he left. I ate one of Ella's sneakily healthy muffins and put on a plain navy blue t-shirt and a pair of jeans. The waistband was tight again. I checked the size, sure they had to be another pair of my skinny pants. They weren't. Sheesh. I really was a ticking clock. Counting down to a Plum Baby public awareness campaign.

I blew out a sigh and picked up Tiki, then took the elevator down to five to collect Nollen and start my day.

Nollen was way more unthrilled to see me than I was about the pants.

Ranger had a lot of guys working for him and they usually fit into two specific groups. They either looked like they belonged in desert camo or an orange jumpsuit. I knew Nollen had been in the Army and done tours in Afghanistan. He was over six feet of hard military muscle, with dark blond hair buzzed almost bald. And when he stood in ranks with the other men, he had a hard demeanor that said _don't mess with me_. When he looked at me, though, his expression was much more _dear god what did I do to deserve this?_

Not that I blamed him. The last time he drove me somewhere he'd been T-boned and broke his arm in two places.

It ended up being a pretty empty day anyway. I'd made a couple failed attempts to lure Brody Logan. Figured out he was definitely following me. Got a few fishy calls about Susan Cubbin that involved a folded-up poster she found in Geoffrey's office and a mysterious gold bar, but when I'd stopped by her house to ask her about it she hadn't been home. By dinner time I was pretty discouraged. Only plus side was that Nollen had finally relaxed a little. He was liking the slow pace and frequent snacks.

I decided to round out the day with a drive by The Clinic. We pulled around the Myron Cryo building and put the Mercedes into park. Studying the building in the growing dusk. It was still creepy, even from the outside.

I'd been fighting the feeling for a while now. Hadn't wanted to give it too much thought. I'd tried really hard to buy into Lula's theory that Geoffrey Cubbin had used the 5 million dollars to buy himself a new face and freedom. But staring at the building I couldn't help the certainty. Geoffrey Cubbin was dead. The other patients that had gone missing from Central were also dead. And I didn't like the icky possibilities of what could have happened to them.

Dusk gave way into night as I watched the single lit window toward the back of the building.

And then a second light went on.

Cripes.

Someone else was in there.

I called Morelli. "I'm sitting outside The Clinic and I just saw a second light turn on. I think it's Elwood Pitch."

"Did you see Elwood Pitch?"

"No, I just saw a light. But that window is to one of the patient rooms, so it would stand to reason that he could be in there."

"You still have one of Ranger's guys with you, right?"

"Yes. Nollen is sitting in my passenger seat."

"Isn't he the one on desk duty after you broke his arm?"

Jeez. "What's your point?"

"Just making sure you've got someone with you who's livelihood and bodily safety is dependent upon you not doing dangerous things, like breaking into The Clinic for a second time. Because I've been doing research and that place is as creepy as you described. On the surface it seems legitimate. Franz Sunshine is writing it off as a loss on his taxes, except from what you've told me about the security guard, the part-time nurse, and the perfectly maintained lab and surgical suite, he has to be using that building for something more than a tax break. And what's even more unsettling, he has a similar operation in four other states, all running at a loss, but still owns and maintains two private planes. I'm no forensic accountant, but that doesn't add up to me."

"Have you been able to look inside?"

"No. I don't have enough evidence yet. A judge is gonna need more than 'looks creepy' to sign a search warrant."

"How about 'looks _really_ creepy'?"

"Yeah sure, I could give that a try. Is it safe to assume you're staying at Rangeman while your apartment is being renovated?"

"Pretty safe."

"And how's that working out?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Not particularly. I just wanted to make sure you knew that if you get frustrated with him like you used to do with me, you'd be safer staying here than at your mom's house."

I wasn't sure about that, but I thanked him anyway.

It didn't take long after sunset for me to give up watching the building and head home to Rangeman. I caught a glimpse of a gray Nissan swarmed with cop cars in the FedEx parking lot as we were leaving. Could have sworn I saw Brody Logan hightailing it away from the scene. Best guess was he'd stolen a car to follow me and Tiki and it had been reported as suspicious. Dammit. At this rate I was going to be stuck with Tiki forever.

ooo

I woke up alone in Ranger's bed with only the vague memory of a warm body next to me in the middle of the night. His side was cold and undisturbed. If he'd been there, it hadn't been recently. My phone buzzed again and I realized it was what had woken me. I answered it.

"What the heck happened to your apartment?" asked the voice.

"Who is this?"

"Randy Briggs. Jeez, don't you have caller ID?"

"I didn't look at it. I'm still waking up."

"You were sleeping? It's the middle of the day."

I looked at the clock and frowned. "It's only eight o'clock."

"Well, it feels like the middle of the day. I've been up since three this morning. I'm worried about the missing patients."

"That's thoughtful."

"Thoughtful nothing. My job is on the line. I think they might be interviewing for my replacement. I need you to go down to The Clinic with me and poke around some more. Pitch is in there, he has to be."

"Okay okay. Why don't you drive over here while I get dressed and we'll go from there."

"And you would be where exactly? Because your apartment looks like a toasted marshmallow."

"I'm at Rangeman. I'll text you the address. Just park on the street and wait for me in the front lobby. And don't mind the guy on the front desk. He hasn't killed a single person this year."

I couldn't be certain if I heard Randy gulp before I hung up, but it made me smile all the same.

I was just getting out of the shower when Ranger showed up in the bedroom dripping with sweat after a long run. He might have looked a little disappointed that he missed the chance for a tandem shower, but he also seemed to be in hurry. He let himself have a thorough and carnivorous look at me in my towel while he tossed his phone onto the bed next to mine. Stripped off his shirt right there, rivulets of sweat rolling down his beautifully chiseled and shiny caramel mocha chest. He lost the shorts too with a grin that proved he really could read minds, and then he went into the bathroom to start the shower.

Boy. What was a girl to do with that much hotness?

A phone buzzed on the bed and I answered it, still watching the sliver of incredible mocha body through the gap in the bathroom door. "Yeah?" I said, thinking it was Randy.

The silence on the line paused a second and I felt the cold fingers again. The heart stopping sensation of facing otherness. I looked down and saw my phone on the bed. I'd answered Ranger's. "I should have known you would be near him," said a voice beyond reason. Like a fire burning in the cold vacuum of space. "Further evidence of his contamination. You can't imagine how saddened I was to learn that like Kinsey, Ranger had infected an innocent woman with his evil."

"Ranger's not evil."

"I know you believe that. It's the most insidious thing about the depths of his disease. You have never seen what I have seen. You don't know his sins. But don't fear. I will cleanse you. You will watch as your flesh blisters and melts an inch at a time. Savoring the agony that will purify you until your soul is ready to depart unburdened. This is the gift I will give you. A gift for you both. Yours in ascension. And his through the pain of knowing that he has caused such suffering for the one he loves. It will be a penance for him. The processes that might just save his soul before the fires cleanse him too."

"You're insane."

The laugh was nothing short of terrifying. Completely unhinged from reality. "You think that now, but before this is over you'll be thanking me. Begging for me to help you from this life into the next."

I heard the moment he disconnected, but I didn't pull the phone from my ear. It was fused to my hand in a death grip, shaking with the rest of my arm. I felt the energy approach me from behind. Warm hands brushing my trembling fingers with the strong chest at my back. I let him have the phone. Let him envelope me in his protective arms. My whole body trembling.

Ranger could say a lot with just one word, but no matter what else it meant, there was always an undercurrent of affection. An implied _I love you_ on the edge of every meaning. This time, the whispered "Babe" said he was sorry he'd ever gotten me into this. Sorry that I'd been exposed to something so dark because of him. Sorry that the only way to avoid it was to stay a prisoner in his tower and let him hunt and slay the dragon all on his own. It was also a question. "I'm fine," I told him in answer.

"Are you sure?"

"No. But what choice do I have?"

He let out a barely-there sigh that was equal parts resignation and pride, pressing a kiss to my temple. "At least we've confirmed his identity. Even if I hadn't recognized his voice from here I'd've known that laugh anywhere. Unfortunately it doesn't put us any closer to finding him."

"Is Amanda safe?"

"Yes. She's with Kinsey in one of our safehouses. We're running full security on the church and the restaurant tonight. I've even called in bomb sniffing dogs. Just stay vigilant and keep your protection with you. We'll get through this."

"Better."

Ranger smiled just a little, brushing a light kiss to my lips. And then he went back to the shower to get ready for another long and detailed day. He made sure my gun was loaded and strapped to my waist before he left. Leaving me with nothing to drag my feet over. I sighed my own resignation and got into the elevator.


	27. Chapter 27

AU of Notorious 19, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Ranger

He'd held the elevator for her before he even knew for certain that she was coming. But as predicted, less than a minute after he walked out the door Stephanie was on his heels. Heading down to five with him to collect her body guard and start her day. He wondered for a brief second if it was because she didn't want to be alone after being threatened so graphicly, but he pushed the thought away before he could dwell on it. It wouldn't do much to help the struggle he was already having with his internal calm.

It had taken him a moment to realize it wasn't her phone she'd answered. Until the words _Ranger's not evil_ came through the open door. Ranger'd shut the water off. Heard the selfless offer to burn her flesh from her bones to save her from Ranger's influence. Then he'd laughed his crazy Orin laugh and Ranger couldn't help the wrathful fury. Like the dam of darkness had broken inside him. Overwhelming every zen measure and practice in a moment of pure instinctual hatred. It wasn't something he was proud of, and it had taken a moment to rein it in. He'd had to focus on her. The steady in her voice even as her legs were shaking. The way her breath held the second he hung up and she was left to digest it alone. She'd needed him. Needed his calm and his focus. His complete control. And thank god she did because it was only for her sake that he was able to manage it.

Yet another example of the way she saved him from himself.

It was against every instinct to pass her off to Nollen and let her go, but it wasn't like he had a choice. She had her thing to do and he had his. And she'd have Nollen and Morelli watching her back and keeping her out of obvious danger. Or more likely, keeping her from being reckless. Steph was way more capable than she'd ever given herself credit for, but she was also impulsive. Didn't always think things through. Having backup on her was the only thing that let him relax enough to concentrate on the task at hand.

He'd collected every one of his men but Nollen who had special ops training and sent them to the church, as well as the restaurant where the rehearsal dinner was being held. Had them sweep every inch looking for alcoves and corners and backdoors that could be used in an assault. Checked eyelines with surrounding buildings. Arrival and escape routes. He wanted the layouts memorized, so that they would notice if one thing was amiss.

He'd already spoken with the restaurant owner. Two of his men would be in the kitchen for every step of meal preparation too. It wasn't likely Orin would try to poison them again. But there was one lesson he'd learned well over the years. It was better to be cautious than dead any day.

ooo

Steph

The initial fun of seeing Briggs pretend not to be intimidated, first by Reynolds in the lobby and then by Nollen, had only lasted the first twenty minutes or so. After that it was just a lot of sitting. We'd been watching The Clinic for over two hours and there hadn't been so much as a tumbleweed. And worse, I'd already blown through all of the snacks in my messenger bag. "I don't suppose you want to wait here with Briggs while I make a McDonald's run," I said to Nollen.

He swung his eyes my way with a face that said he'd rather be fed hot coals. I gave him my cutest smile and batted my lashes. He shook his head and stuck a hand in one of his cargo pants pockets. Tossed me a bag of raw almonds.

"You had this the whole time?"

"You got hungry every two hours yesterday. Seemed smart to be prepared."

"I think that might be the most words you've ever said to me."

The corner of his mouth lifted a little. See? I was making progress.

His eyes cut to the main road with precision focus. Hand shifting to his sidearm. A car was coming our way. Briggs and I slid down in our seats. Took an amused glance from Nollen to remember my windows were tinted as well as bulletproof. The silver Lexus pulled behind The Clinic and disappeared into the garage. "This is big," Briggs said. "This is a new car. There wasn't a silver Lexus in the garage the night we broke in."

"It's not exactly earth shaking, though. There are two doctors that are supposed to work there. I think I remember Craig Fish driving a silver Lexus."

"But assuming that was Fish, why would he be there if there were no patients? He's a surgeon. He wouldn't waste his time unless he was checking on someone."

I tried to come up with an alternate theory and couldn't, so I ate Nollen's almonds. We watched the silent building for another hour before the garage door opened again and the silver Lexus pulled out and drove toward Route 1. I made a note of the license plate number to confirm, but I was pretty sure the guy behind the wheel was indeed Craig Fish.

I crumpled up the empty package of almonds and stuffed it in the cupholder. They'd taken the edge off, but I was going to need real lunch soon. I wasn't sure how much longer I'd be able to sit there without the boredom gnawing at me again. I was about the cut bait when I saw something move in the tree line. I leaned over the wheel and squinted. It was Brody Logan. I'd just assumed he would have gone back to the underpass after his stolen car was recovered by police, but it seemed he'd decided that because I was staking out The Clinic, it might just be the best place the stake out me. I shoved the door open and Nollen flinched, popping out of the passenger seat with his weapon drawn. Logan squealed and scampered off before I took a single step. Cripes, this was really getting old.

"This happen a lot?" Nollen asked me.

"Define a lot."

I took a quick look through the trees. Logan had made a modest little camp there. He was in it for the long haul. If I didn't have to go to a wedding rehearsal tonight I might have made a plan to sneak up on him, but as of that moment it was sort of hard to drudge up enough motivation to pounce on Brody Logan.

We picked up Cluck-in-the-Bucket on the way to the bonds office. I'd just docked at the curb when my phone rang. I looked at the display. "It's Ranger," I said to Nollen and Briggs. "Why don't you carry the food inside and I'll be in in a second."

Briggs hopped right out, biscuits in hand, but Nollen stayed put with a skeptical stare. "You realize I've heard all the stories about how you ditch your details," he pointed out.

"You say that like you don't trust me."

More staring.

"Suit yourself," I said, answering. "Hi Studmuffin. What are you wearing?"

There was a big pause on the open line. Just long enough for Nollen to retreat from the car. Pretty sure I heard Ranger smile. "Do I want to know what that's about?"

"Probably not. What's up?"

"The bridal salon woman called me again. Why is she calling me instead of you?"

"Because she doesn't have my number?"

"I will get even," he said.

Totally worth it. "What did she want?"

"She wanted me to remind you to pick up your dress."

"At least it wasn't about the shoes," I offered.

Another pause. That time I was sure he was smiling. "Babe."

As soon as my belly was full of chicken and I'd swung by Tasty Pastry for a round of donuts, we went to the bridal shop to pick up the dress. She'd wanted me to try it on, but that wasn't anywhere on my fun things to do list. I did tell her to be sure to call Ranger, though, to let him know I'd picked it up. I figured it was the least I could do. I tossed the dress in the seat next to Tiki and drove us all back to Rangeman. Sent Briggs home to take a nap and promised to call him if any new leads turned up.

I carried Tiki and the dress up to seven and deposited both on the kitchen table. Got a bottle of water out of the fridge and brought it into Ranger's den, figuring it wouldn't hurt to run another check on Cubbin and Pitch. But as I'd suspected, there was nothing new.

It was six on the dot when Ranger walked in the door. Set his keys and his gun on the silver tray on the sideboard. He came straight into the den like he'd sensed my location, placed a hand on each armrest and tipped me back in the chair. Leaning over me with a seductive kiss. My fingers curled into his shirt and he slid a hand under my knee, pulling me to the edge of the chair until our bodies met. His hard and mine soft. I was out of breath in seconds. Thrilled when he scooped me up and carried me to his bed, relieving me of my clothes. He worshiped every inch of me like I'd been on his mind all day. The gentle evolved to driven at just the right moment and I couldn't keep from crying it to the ceiling. My fingers dug into his strong shoulder and the small of his back when he released too. Savoring the moment with a slow, relieved kiss. He grazed my bottom lip with his teeth. Fingertips still tracing light lines along my skin. "I was told you picked your dress up from the bridal salon."

"I thought you'd want to know."

He smiled. "It made my day. I brought you a present."

"You did?"

"Babe," he said with a laugh. "And here I thought you'd already peaked in the excited department." He shifted enough to reach the cargo pants he'd tossed onto the bed and took something out of one of the pockets. It looked like a sports watch, with a wide face and button gizmos on the side. "This is a GPS unit with an audio transmitter. You can turn the audio on and off with this button here. You'll see a plus or minus sign on the watch face telling you if the audio is sending. If you get into trouble at any point, push the button and an alarm will sound in the control room. They'll be able to listen in."

I took off my watch and dropped it on his pillow, replacing it with the GPS. "Does the audio go both ways?"

"No. It just transmits. It doesn't receive." Next he showed me a small metal disk. "This is a backup GPS that I'd like to put in a discrete location, just in case." His eyes caressed every last inch of my exposed body under his. "Any preference on where I put it? Because I can be very creative."

"Gee, I wouldn't want it anyplace that might get uncomfortable."

His smile turned dirty again. He kissed my collar bone. My breast. My nipple. He lingered there a moment, much to my enjoyment. And then he moved down. My ribs. My navel. The small swell of belly. By the time he reached the promised land I was halfway there again and loving every second. Ranger had skills and a knowledge of my body like I'd never dreamed possible. I was so wrapped up in the sensations of it that we'd hit the finish line on round two before I notice the disk taped low on my belly.

Ranger dragged me to my feet and nudged me toward the closet to get dressed. The closet where Ella had put away every last item of clothing I owned. The last time I'd lived with Ranger there'd been a couple weeks' worth. Now I had half the closet. The wall of black transformed to His and Hers. If I hadn't just had several quality orgasms, I might have been tempted to question this. But as it stood, I was way too relaxed to get worked up over sharing a closet with Ranger.

I put on a pretty black skirt and a white silky blouse. Ranger was even more mysterious in black on black dress shirt and slacks combination. He fit his black Glock at the small of his back and covered it with a black blazer. Then he pulled me flush against him. I felt it when he clipped the Ruger to the back of my skirt. He kissed me and then held out my jacket. Kept an arm around me on the walk to the elevator.


	28. Chapter 28

AU of Notorious 19, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Ranger

The wedding was scheduled at Stephanie's church in Chambersburg, not far from where she'd grown up. It was where she'd made first communion. Where her mother and grandmother attended mass. Where Stephanie went on Christmas and Easter. He'd only seen her go one other time, just after Hawaii. When the reality of their affair had mixed badly with the Catholic guilt and she'd been inspired to atone. Ranger'd been raised Catholic too, but he wasn't as susceptible to guilt, as much as his mother and Grandma Rosa tried. Usually, he attended mass to make them happy. Because it was something they did as a family. But there was also a peace there that he had in few other places. Comfort in ritual. In the familiarity of home. Something he rarely had the time for anymore.

Stephanie was watching him as they entered and made the sign of the cross. Hadn't appreciated their common roots until now. Not that he blamed her. He didn't exactly live a life that lined up well with the ten commandments. He'd definitely broken all of them at one point or another, but these days he only broke about half as a matter of routine. He was also intimately acquainted with five out of seven deadly sins.

He took Stephanie's hand in his and together they walked to where the wedding party was milling around the alter. Kinsey had an arm around a subdued Amanda. She was nervous and more than a little traumatized. Might be second guessing her choice to go through with the wedding. Unfortunately for her, canceling would just make matters worse. Whatever Orin's twisted logic, the vendetta wouldn't end until they were all dead. And it was easier to control the lure and circumstances of a big event than it was the thousand small moments that make up an ordinary life.

The wedding planner was standing near the alter with a clipboard. "We need the maid of honor to lead the bridesmaids to the back of the church."

"That's you, Babe."

Stephanie gaped at him. "I'm the maid of honor?"

"Yes. It's why you have the special pink dress."

She caught him in the ribs with an annoyed elbow, but the breath he expelled was half laughter. She did as she was told while he took his place at the alter beside Kinsey.

Music filled the cavernous angles of the cathedral ceiling and the bridesmaids started down the aisle. Stepping in the familiar rhythm. There was an odd nostalgia to it. The sound. The movement. The scent of flowers mingling with incense. The view was new. When his sisters had married, he'd been in the pews with his grandmother. His own had been nothing more than signing a legal contract in front of a judge. Ranger had never considered himself sentimental. But watching from the alter as the line of girls marched toward them, Stephanie's eyes meeting his from the end of the aisle, he had a strange thought. A vision of her walking toward him in white. A thin veil surrounding her like a halo. Eyes shining with promises they were finally ready to keep. There was a moment when he was sure she'd seen it too. And then her concentration broke and she faltered, nearly stepping on the girl in front of her. Got a gasp from the bride. Ranger smiled.

God he loved that woman.

He came back to himself enough to remember they were being stalked by a madman. He swept the balcony and the exits with his eyes for signs of Orin. When he saw it was clear, he let her draw them again. Like she always did.

The priest walked them through the vows, and then it was time to leave. Kinsey and Amanda ahead of them, Stephanie on his arm. Stephanie leaned into him. "Would Orin try to do something in a church?"

"He's crazy. He'd do anything."

The rest of the party reached the end of the aisle and were dismissed by the wedding planner. They all started gathering their things to head to the rehearsal dinner. Stephanie was watching Amanda. "What exactly is my role here?" she asked him.

"My best guess is that Orin will target Amanda either tonight or tomorrow. Orin's ultimate goal is Kinsey and eventually me, but he'll want to pull the wings off before the kill."

She swallowed. Didn't sit well with her. Probably remembering the part about melting her skin inch by inch.

"Kinsey will stay close to Amanda," he went on so she wouldn't dwell, "but there are times when you'll have to take over. He can't follow her every second. And he won't be with her tomorrow before the wedding. I have extra security in place, but they'll be at a distance. You're Amanda's primary protection."

"Isn't that a little ambitious? I'm not you."

"Babe, nobody's me."

"Are you absolutely sure you don't want to put one of your men in drag for this?"

"I asked Tank, but he declined. Said pink wasn't a good color on him." That got him a small smile under the worry. He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out the photograph he'd picked up from the bunker house Steph always called the Batcave. He showed it to her. "This was taken a while ago but it will give you some idea of what Orin looks like. Orin's the one next to me. The one with the sunglasses."

The photograph was one of the few of his entire Delta unit before he and Kinsey left and they were disbanded. They were all in desert camo. Golden landscape of Afghanistan behind them. Fully outfitted and smiling after a mission success.

It wasn't that hard to read her face while she studied it. Hint of fear as she memorized Orin. Taking in the blond hair, the stocky build, the dimple in his chin. Ranger knew the sunglasses covered those crazy pale blue eyes. The ones transparent enough to let you see that every time he looked at you, he was imagining exactly how he would kill you if push came to shove.

But it wasn't Orin that held her attention. Her focus was on Ranger's younger self.

In the four years they'd known each other, he'd never once showed her any remnants of his past. He didn't clutter his apartment with keepsakes or personal items. Only the things he needed day to day. He'd been sleeping there every night the last few years, ever since she'd discovered his building and figured that was where she could find him. And he'd liked that she could find him. Loved it when she shared his space. But bringing the accumulation of personal shit had seemed pointless. None of it was necessary, or defined who he was.

And yet, watching Stephanie soak in the glimpse of his past life, he couldn't shake the impression that there was a small part of her unsettled by it. The way she was when he wore green cable knit or blue jeans instead of black. Like she had trouble reconciling new information with what little she knew about him.

She gave him the picture and he tucked it away. Put a hand to her back to guide her out to the 911. They drove to the Cider Mill House, a redbrick building in downtown Trenton, and parked in the lot.

Neither of them got out right away.

They'd both spent years putting up careful barriers between them. Trying at least. Evidence would suggest neither of them had been particularly good at it. Still. It was hard to let go of. Hard to find the line of how far he could let her in. This was the furthest she'd ever seen into his world, and there was a part of him on edge wondering if this would be the thing that kicked her flight instinct in gear and made her run from him. Not that he would blame her. He'd never given her enough solid ground to warrant the kind of faith she seemed to have in him.

He looked at her in the darkness for a long moment. Hoping to see any hint of her thoughts. Took the chance and leaned toward her. Lifting her chin to give her the choice to pull away. Her tension eased when he brushed his lips to hers. Let the slow kiss deepen, her fingers curling into his lapel. She might have had trouble putting her thoughts back together when he finally pulled back, failing to hide a hint of smile. She still wanted him.

"What was that for?"

"Not sure I could make a list at this point," he said, tracing a soft line from her neck to her clavicle. "But I could start with an apology. I didn't know when I asked you to be my date that it was going to turn into this."

"I'm not all that sure there was anything you could have done differently."

"Being my date put a target on your back."

"Just being me puts a target on my back. Besides. There's a person the size of a plum inside me that's half you. If he could find out where I live it probably wasn't all that hard to figure out I'm your girlfriend."

The warmth spreading through his chest was automatic. It was the first time she'd said it out loud. "Is that an official label?"

"We did just move in together."

The fact she didn't sound freaked out about that had his hope mixing with his libido. "Yes we did," he breathed, kissing her again, this time without hesitation. She opened up to him and the passion took on a life of its own. He tasted her neck. Her hand inching up his inner thigh. Before he realized it her blouse was unbuttoned, her breasts in both hands. Her panted coos and pheromones too strong a reminder of the time she'd straddled him in this very seat, one foot on the ground through the open door, knee on the console, as they'd driven each other to ecstasy. He was just wishing they had a back seat when highbeams shone in their rearview mirror. He chided himself. Getting control of his body. "We're going to have to raincheck this until tonight. We've got company."

She might have whispered 'damn' while she adjusted her clothes. Not just her blouse and bra, but her skirt. Apparently he'd had a wayward hand. Damn was right. Another minute and he might have had her singing all over again.

ooo

Steph

How Ranger managed to get ahold of himself enough to get out of the car was beyond me. If I'd been in his place I would have been stuck in launch mode. As it was I was hurriedly stuffing myself back into my bra and trying to button the front of my blouse. Boy. It seemed no matter how satisfied I was from earlier, the lightest touch from Ranger could still turn me into a girl who fools around in restaurant parking lots.

Ranger blocked me with his body when he opened my door until he was certain I was presentable, and then offered a hand to lift me out of the lowered seat. We followed Kinsey and Amanda into the restaurant.

I was seated next to Amanda in the big second floor dining room. Ranger across from us. Amanda leaned toward me. "I appreciate that you would take on this job. I knew Robert was in Special Forces, but I wasn't prepared for something like this to happen."

"This isn't because of his Special Forces background. This is about mental illness. It's about a man who has a problem, and for reasons that are beyond our control he's fixated on Ranger and Kinsey. All we can do is stay safe until Ranger catches him."

"Do you have a gun?" Amanda whispered.

"Yes."

"Me too. I have a Beretta. What kind do you have?"

"A Ruger."

"Have you ever shot anyone?"

"Yes, but it was sort of an accident."

"You mean the gun went off when you didn't mean it to go off?"

"No. I mean he was shooting at me, and I shot him back."

"That doesn't sound very accidental."

"Well I didn't plan it." I focused on the movement of the waiters around the room for a moment, uncomfortable with the topic of conversation. One was going down the table filling wine glasses. I waved him off when he got to me. Garnering a small eyebrow raise from Amanda. Time for a redirect. "You must be excited to be getting married."

Amanda paused. "Can I tell you a secret?"

"Sure."

"I'm really nervous, and I'm not entirely sure I'm making the right decision. I've been dreaming of this moment my whole life. I thought it was all going to be so perfect. The gown, the walk down the aisle, the big party after. But at the moment just thinking about it is absolutely terrifying."

"These aren't exactly normal circumstances. But it's all going to be fine I promise."

"But what if I'm making a huge mistake? Marriage is so permanent. I mean, I love Robert. Maybe it's just pre-wedding jitters. Everyone gets cold feet, right?"

"My sister Valerie freaked out and ran away with her fiancé to Disneyworld instead of getting married. It took two pregnancies and a surprise wedding to get them official."

"Are they still married?"

"They're so happy it's actually sickening sometimes."

She finally smiled. Her posture relaxing. She took a brave sip of her wine, her eyes brushing my empty glass before she cut a glance at Ranger. "Do you and Ranger ever think about getting married?"

"Ranger and I haven't been a couple for very long. I'm not sure he's ready to go all in on a relationship."

Amanda rolled her eyes in the cutest way, smiling big for the first time. "Sure."

"What?"

"I've seen the way he looks at you. He can't take his eyes off you."

"It's because he's waiting for the next train wreck."

"If you say so," she said, grinning behind her wine glass.

The first course arrived. Green salad. Not exactly my favorite. I pushed it around with my fork while I watched the room. Ranger was doing the same across from me. Listening with a polite smile to Amanda's mother as she chatted away. Our eyes would meet on occasion, for just a second. Each brush was like a small conversation. When the main course arrived I looked down to the mashed potatoes and bit my lip. I didn't particularly want to risk getting poisoned. Ranger saw the hesitation. "I have someone in the kitchen," he assured me. "This should be okay."

It was eleven o'clock by the time we left the restaurant. Two Rangeman SUVs following Kinsey and Amanda, one following Ranger and me as we drove back to Rangeman. "I really like Amanda," I told him. "It was nice getting to know her. Are you sure she's going to be safe tonight?"

"She's with Kinsey at the safehouse. They'll be fine."

"Did you think he was going to make a move at the restaurant?"

"I thought it was possible he'd make a move at the church. It could be that he was discouraged by the security force."

"Or he was watching to see if there were any weaknesses he could exploit."

"Now you're thinking like security."

Ranger pulled into the underground garage and parked in his usual spot by the elevator. Dismissing our tail with a brush of his eyes. He followed me onto the elevator. The doors sliding shut. He hit the button on his key fob to send the elevator up to seven. Then he hit a second button to scramble the cameras and pinned me to the wall with his body. By the time the doors opened again on seven I was actually surprised I was still clothed. He took my hand and tugged me toward his door.

Ranger was already gone when I woke ungodly early the next morning. I hadn't slept well. And while the advantage of not being able to sleep when I was in a bed with Ranger was that he woke at the lightest touch and had the energy for passion any time of day or night, marathon sex wasn't quite the cure for an overwhelmed mind that it was for an overwhelmed body. After tossing and turning an hour, I finally gave up and got dressed, intent to go for a drive to clear my head. I stepped on the elevator and pressed the button for the underground garage.

The elevator stopped on five.

The doors opened and I found myself standing in Tank's very big shadow. "Going somewhere?"

"I was just going for a drive. It's not a big deal."

"Then you won't mind waiting five minutes for Nollen."

"That's really not necessary."

Again with the impenetrable stare. Jeez. You'd think I was Tiki.

Four minutes later the stairwell door opened and Nollen came onto the floor looking like he'd jumped out of bed and thrown a uniform on, which I suspected is exactly what had happened. He stepped on the elevator with me and Tank finally stepped back, nodding to Ram on the control desk. He hit a button and the elevator doors eased closed on their own.

"This is feeling more and more like house arrest."

"I hope that doesn't mean you'll try and give me the slip. I really like this job. I'd like to keep it."

I sighed. "Let's just go."

We loaded into my Mercedes and pulled out of the Rangeman garage. Driving nowhere in particular. I had way too much going on in my mind. First there was the way Cubbin and Pitch seemed to have vanished into thin air. There was the mysterious light at The Clinic and the mid-day surgeon visit when there weren't supposed to be any patients. There was Franz Sunshine and his unexplained operations. And on top of it all, the constant threat of being burned alive.

Oh, and surprise surprise, I was hungry again.

For some reason thinking about Cubbin gave me an overwhelming craving for grilled cheese. I blamed the old guys who'd planned to kidnap him and beat him up before he'd done his disappearing act. They'd said when they found his bed empty, they'd cut their losses and gone to the diner on Livingston for some extra greasy grilled cheese. Sounded like a plan to me. Grilled cheese was happy food. Happy food was an instant mood booster no matter how crappy things were.

I turned toward Livingston and parked in the empty lot. Damn. They weren't open yet. I got out to look at the hours of operation. It was nearly seven in the morning. They had to open soon. And then I froze.

Open from 7am-1am.

I pulled out my phone and called Randy Briggs.

"You said Nurse Norma notated that Pitch and Cubbin were in their beds at two, right?"

"Where are you going with this?"

"I talked to some guys at Cranberry manor who snuck onto the floor the night Cubbin went missing. They said he was already gone when they got there so they left to get grilled cheese at the diner on Livingston."

"So?"

"So the diner on Livingston closes at one, which means Cubbin couldn't have been in his bed at two. How far back did you go when you looked at the surveillance videos?"

"I'd always start looking just before two."

"Bring up the video. Me and Nollen will be there in a half hour."

"Why wouldn't you come now?"

"Because the diner doesn't open for another ten minutes and I _really_ need some grilled cheese."

"Any way I can talk my way into a grilled cheese?"

Sigh. "I guess."


	29. Chapter 29

AU of Notorious 19, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The three of us were gathered around the computer in Briggs' office crunching on our extra greasy and delicious grilled cheese sandwiches. Bill Smoot hadn't been joking. The diner on Livingston made an excellent grilled cheese sandwich. Briggs had all four angles open and running in fast forward from the moment visiting hours ended at 8pm. It was all starting to blur together in my cheese endorphined brain when something jumped at me. "Stop! Stop it right there!"

Briggs tapped the keyboard and cued it back a minute. At 11:45, a massive orderly stepped out of the service elevator pushing a large laundry basket. The video was grainy and the colors weren't great, but I could see the pale sheen to his albino skin and white hair. I would never have noticed if I hadn't seen him up close and personal. "That's the Yeti!"

"Are you sure?" Briggs asked. "How could it be the Yeti?"

"Can you pull up just that camera?"

Briggs hit a couple more keys and the elevator filled the screen. He wound it back to 11:45 again and we watched as the six foot six mountain crossed into the hall, head down like he knew where the camera was. At 11:53 the Yeti appeared again, but this time the hamper looked a lot heavier.

"Sonovabitch," I said. "That's how Cubbin got off the floor. In the laundry hamper."

"There are pickups like that all day long," Briggs said. "Nobody would even notice this guy."

"Do you have camera feed from the loading dock?"

"Yeah. Give me a second." He scrolled through a series of cameras and brought up the view. Reset the time to 11:55. A white panel van was already backed up to the platform. At 11:59 the Yeti rolled the laundry hamper into the van and drove away.

"Damn. That's how they did it," Briggs said. "Is it just me, or does that van look like the one from the Clinic?"

"It's not just you," I told him. I pulled out my phone and called Morelli. "I'm in Briggs' office and I just found something you're going to want to see."

"You didn't stuff him in another mailbox did you?"

"No! You got copies of the surveillance videos from Central the night Cubbin went missing, right?"

"Yeah, but I didn't find anything helpful and the techs say it wasn't tampered with. Why, what did you see?"

"Go to the view of the service elevator at 11:45."

Morelli was silent for a second. Tapping at his laptop. "The orderly?"

"That's the guy that chased me when I broke into The Clinic. The guy who tried to stun gun me at Cubbin's house."

"You're sure?"

"Positive. Now go to 11:53."

Morelli was quiet a second. And then I could feel his change in attention. "Sonovabitch."

"If you go to the loading dock you'll see that cart rolled onto a white panel van just like the one Briggs and I saw in The Clinic garage. Do you think that's enough to get a search warrant?"

"It would be enough for me to try if you were able to ID this guy when _not_ breaking and entering. I'm not sure how well it'll go over if that detail slips. Even if you do have legal rights as a BEA."

"So what do we do? Should we go down there and take another look?"

"From the outside sure, but if I go in without a warrant or probable cause anything we find will be fruit of the poisoned tree. Not admissible in court."

"But what if Pitch is in there right now? Their on-staff surgeon Dr. Fish made a visit yesterday for an hour. What if he was doing some kind of prep for surgery? What if Pitch is about to disappear in a permanent sort of way like all the others?"

I could hear Morelli's ambivalence through the open line. He didn't like the idea of Pitch getting away. "I'll make some calls and meet you down there. Maybe I can get a judge on board if I sell it right."

"Hurry."

I disconnected and nodded to Nollen. "Morelli's going to meet us down there."

"Me too," Briggs said. "I'm not missing this. If you find Pitch I want to be there. It might be the only way I can keep my job."

ooo

Nollen, Briggs and I were parked in the Myron Cryo lot when Morelli pulled in and parked next to me. He got out and hopped into the empty back passenger seat. "How'd it go?" I asked him. "Did you get a warrant?"

"Not yet. My sergeant's trying to find a judge who will sign off on something this circumstantial. Has there been any activity?"

"No, and it's driving me nuts. I really need to see in that building. I need to know what's going on. Maybe I should just go in. I do have legal rights if I think Pitch is in there. Randy could let me in."

"That's not a good idea," Morelli said. "We don't have any idea what's in there. I'm not letting you walk in blind."

"I could call Eugene," Nollen said from the front seat. We both turned to him and he got deer in the headlights. I gave him a go on gesture. "He usually works Rangeman surveillance. He's got all kinds of toys."

"Are any of these toys legal?" Morelli asked.

Nollen shrugged.

I agreed and Nollen made a call. A half hour later, a black Jeep Cherokee rolled into the lot and parked on my other side. Eugene was pretty small for one of Ranger's guys. Maybe 5'4", with the lean kind of build that said he could pass the required fitness tests, but probably couldn't bench press a truck. He opened the back and pulled out a large clear domed disk with some wires and things running through the middle. Looked a lot like the listening devices you'd see in spy movies, but bigger and more high tech. He handed me a receiver and then disappeared around the side of the Myron Cryo building.

I turned on the receiver and listened for a while. There was mostly static. Sometimes a sound would come through. Muffled and distorted. But nothing identifiable. And then after a long moment of static, we heard a voice.

"…don't have to do this. I could pay you."

"Someone tried that last week. Swore he had five million in gold bars tucked away," said a man with a heavy accent. "But he ended up spare parts just like you."

"I—I'm an elected official! People will notice—"

"Oh, they noticed, but not because of that." He clucked his tongue. "Arrested in the act. Very sloppy Mr. Pitch. I would think a man in your position would have heard of a middle man. Separation. They couldn't prove anything when they tried to charge me because I'd covered my tracks."

"I was supposed to have a middle man, but it fell through."

"I'd say you live and you learn, but you won't be doing either, will you? And all these police will simply think you ran away. Perfect, yes?"

"You can't do this… you can't…" The voice got weaker and weaker until it drifted away to nothing. The only sound left in the room was a smug laugh.

"I don't know why you taunt them like that," said a new voice. Deeper than the others.

"It's fun," said the accent that I was pretty sure belonged to Dr. Abu Darhmal. "You of all people know how boring this job can be."

"You were supposed to wait until the others got here before you sedated him. What if he dies before surgery?"

"Put him on the ventilator. The good parts will stay good for 24 hours."

I exchanged a look with Morelli. All my worst fears confirmed. "Is that enough to get a warrant?"

"I'd say so. But this might be one of those exceptions where we ask for the warrant and go in anyway."

Morelli made some calls while I signaled Eugene. Didn't take long for a shiny red convertible to whip into the Cul-de-sac and pull into the garage in its place. "Nurse Norma," I told Morelli. Not long after that came Craig Fish's silver Lexus.

"Looks like the gangs all here," Morelli said. "Let's hope there aren't any more surprises."

We all hurried through the trees and up to the back door. Now came the hard part. I cut a look from the chute to Briggs, then Morelli. "You gotta be kidding me," Morelli said.

Eugene shot a warry glance at Morelli before he turned to me. "Want me to open the door?"

"Yes please."

Eugene pulled a gizmo thing out of his bag of tricks and plugged it into the electronic lock. A minute later the door was open. Morelli did his _I didn't see this_ head shake and moved into the building first with his weapon drawn.

The garage was quiet. Five cars lined up in a neat row. In addition to Kruger's convertible and Fish's Lexus, there was a black Escalade, the white panel van and a dark green Bentley. Morelli gave some hand signals, indicating that Eugene, Briggs and me should stay on the ground floor while he and Nollen went upstairs. I shook my head. I wasn't staying put. I could see his frustration, but he was smart enough to know there wasn't any point arguing. Eugene and Briggs took covert positions in the garage and I followed Morelli up the stairs, Nollen at my back.

Morelli peered down the hall. Voices were coming from the lit patient room. Beep of monitors. Soft rustle of machines. I couldn't make out all the words, but it sounded like they were talking vitals. Morelli motioned for Nollen to guard the stairs and inched forward, hoping to hear better.

"Good enough. Let's get him to the OR," said Fish.

There was a clonking of a hospital bed being adjusted for movement and I freaked out. Gave Morelli a shove toward the empty patient room across the hall. He slipped through the opening and tugged me after him, standing with his chest against my back as we peered around the edge of the doorframe. Nurse Norma came out first, guiding the toe end of the bed, Abu Darhmal managing the tubes and cords that hooked to the monitors and the IV drip to the unconscious figure sagging on the bed, one hand still cuffed to the railing. It was Elwood Pitch alright. His face had been on every bus bench and billboard when he was running for reelection last year, and he'd been all over the front page since he'd been smuggled out of Central. The last one to leave the room was Dr. Fish.

The oogey feeling in my stomach squirmed deeper.

No wonder they called him Slash.

Darhmal opened the door to the surgical suite and the whole gruesome crew disappeared inside. I let out a breath to ease my nerves, but it didn't help much. "What now?"

"Backup is still ten minutes out," Morelli whispered, his breath ruffling my hair he was so close.

"We can't wait ten minutes. The human chop shop in there could be cutting Elwood Pitch into tiny pieces as we speak."

"I know, believe me. Problem is I only counted three of them, but there were five cars. I'm not comfortable moving in until we know where the other two are."

Then like the universe was granting favors, one of the office doors opened. "Are you sure that was a good idea?"

"He's been milling around my building for days. There's no telling what he might have seen," said a familiar German accent. It was Franz Sunshine.

"But the risks," said the same deep voice from before.

Sunshine came into view. Waved a dismissive hand. "He's a vagrant with no ties, raving about a plum and a tiki. No one will miss him. When we're finished here you can test his blood type, but leave him in the freezer until the fight is gone. It may give me enough time to find buyers."

Oh god. They were talking about chopping up Brody Logan for parts. I was going to be sick.

I felt the tension radiating through Morelli's body. Morelli always buzzed with contained energy even when he was relaxed. Like a tightly coiled spring. This was different. This was Morelli ready for action. He cut a look to me that said stay on guard, and then he stepped into the hall, his gun raised. "Trenton PD. Stop where you are and put your hands on your head."

All I heard was the ratchet of a shotgun.

I looked into the hall and saw Morelli in a standoff with the Yeti. One blue eye and one brown glaring at him down a double barrel. "Drop it," Morelli told him again.

"I don't think so," said the Yeti.

Then the muzzle of Nollen's Glock touched the back of his neck. "The man said drop it."

From the Yeti's facial expression, he suddenly wanted to do a lot of swearing. He lowered the shotgun and Morelli took it. Tossed Nollen some cuffs. "You got these two?"

"Yes sir."

"Okay. Steph, I guess you're with me." He looked down at the Ruger I was pointing at the floor and grimaced. "Just try not to shoot me in the ass."

"Ha ha."

A smile broke through the cop face for a second, and then he faced the door to the surgical suite and pushed it open.

There were machines and monitors and shiny silver instruments all around the occupied silver bed. Like a scene from Grey's Anatomy. Pitch was covered in a blue drop cloth, three figures in scrubs and face masks leaning over him. Fish was holding a bloody scalpel. Morelli and I pointed our guns at them and told them to freeze. It was all bravado on my part, but none of them need to know that. They took a big step back and Morelli nodded to me. "Call it in. We're gonna need an ambulance too."

The facility was flooded with cops not long after that. Pitch was taken down the elevator into a waiting ambulance. Sunshine and his cohorts cuffed and put into the back of police cars. It took us some effort to find the freezer. It was on the ground floor, tucking into the far back corner of the garage. Eugene worked his magic on the lock and I found Brody Logan blue and shivering inside. He wasn't the only one in the freezer. There was a black body bag laying along the wall. The last Clinic patient who went toes up. I sucked in a breath and unzipped the bag. It wasn't Cubbin. There didn't seem to be a sign of Cubbin anywhere.

My phone chirped.

Cripes. It was almost two o'clock. That didn't give me a lot of time to get ready for the wedding, but as much as I was dreading the whole experience, Amanda was counting on me to be there to protect her. "I have to go," I said to Morelli. "I'm not sure what to do about Pitch."

"I talked to Eugene. He said he was told to stick with Pitch until he can be checked into St. Francis and put on lockdown."

"What about Logan?" I said, looking over at the poor shivering lump huddled under one of the paramedic's silver blankets. "He's been through a lot. Seems mean to take him to jail now."

"That's between you and him. You're his bond enforcement agent."

I was. I was also way too exhausted and heartsick from the experience to want to cause more misery for him at the moment. "Put him in the Mercedes," I told Nollen. "We'll take him back to Rangeman."


	30. Chapter 30

AU of Notorious 19, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Thirty

Ranger

Ranger got the call that they were bringing in Brody Logan only a few minutes after he'd heard about the foiled organ removal surgery. He made arrangements with Ella as Steph had asked so that Logan would have warm blankets and a hot meal waiting for him in his holding cell. And his Hawaiian tiki. She'd been specific about that. Yet another hint at her maternal nature.

Ranger was already in his tux when she blew into the bedroom. "Babe, we should have left ten minutes ago."

"I know, I'm sorry! Just give me a minute to throw on the stupid dress."

She disappeared into the dressing room where he knew Ella had hung the plastic dress bag with his Armani suits. Ranger could hear the rustle of tulle while he fit a formal watch to his wrist. He also heard the swearing. Made him want to smile. "I had some concerns that you wouldn't have a purse or bag with you in the bridesmaid dress, so I took the liberty of ordering you a new holster for your inner thigh. Should be invisible under the skirt."

"Great," she said under more rustling. "Just what I've always wanted. The butt of a Ruger in my doo-dah."

He held in a laugh. He didn't think Steph would appreciate how much that turned him on.

She swore one last time and let out an exasperated sigh. "If you make one wise crack you will never see me naked again, I swear it."

Ranger kept his smile to himself until she stepped out of the dressing room in fifteen yards of smooth crisp fabric the color of antacid. As promised, there was a giant bow over her ass to go with the puffy sleeves, but that wasn't what got his instant attention. He doubted the seamstress had done it by design, but the bodice was so tight her breasts were all but popping out, saved from total indecency by the grace of her nipples, which he could see through the very edge of the low neckline. It was the most fantastic thing he'd seen all week.

"Not one word," she warned.

He didn't need any words. He snaked an arm around her and pressed all that fabric against the part of him that promised undivided attention. Lowering his head enough to brush a kiss to her offered bosom. She moaned and his blood turned hot. "I thought we were late."

"Not late. Just not as early as I'd planned. A sacrifice I'm willing to make given the overwhelming urge to take you right here against the wall."

"You can't actually like this dress."

"God no, the dress in an abomination that should be put down. But there are parts of it I do like." He flicked a finger under the bustline and was rewarded with an exposed nipple. The reward got even better when he stroked it with his tongue.

"So all I have to do is flash a little nipple and I'm a sex goddess?" she panted. Turning pliant as he gathered up fistfuls of rustling skirt and petticoat ruffles.

"Babe, you're a goddess for so many more reasons than that," he whispered velvet in her ear, making her squirm. "The nipple flashing just makes it harder to resist temptation." He reached her legs under the skirt and cupped her ass, pressing her against him. "But if you'd rather leave now…"

"No later's good."

He laughed and ran the tip of his tongue across her bottom lip. "Hold this," he said, giving her the skirt. He left her standing there while he returned to the bed and picked up the thigh holster. It looked like a white lace garter, held in place by a strap and a garter belt. He was hard just thinking about it. She bit her lip when he asked for her leg. Torn between aversion and arousal as he fit it in place.

Arousal won.

He kissed the garter. Then the soft skin just above it. Her femoral pulse point. Then he slipped a finger under the flimsy fuchsia thong and she just about lost her footing. He wrapped around her to hold her up when he pulled the fabric out of the way to kiss her. He stroked her with his tongue and her knees went soft.

Acres of tulle and taffeta whispered around and between them when he pressed her into the wall. She was barely able to get his jacket open and his shirt untucked before she was whimpering. Fingers racking his bare abdomen. Vibrating at a frequency that gave him a rush, body and soul. Humming with the adrenaline only she could bring him. He held her there for a long second after, savoring the sensation of her before he finally let her onto her feet again. The rustle all around them.

It was funny. A lot of guys get asked to be best man at a friend's wedding and put banging a bridesmaid at the top of the to do list. That had never once been Ranger's fantasy. And yet here he was. Hours before the ceremony had even started and he'd already been in the maid of honor, god awful pink dress and all.

Damn.

Though in his defense, the dress was an abomination, but fuck she could be sexy in anything.

Ranger led her by the hand to where she'd thrown her purse on the bed. Pulled out the Ruger. He moved behind her and gathered the skirt enough to slide a hand under it, slipping the muzzle into the lace rapped holster. He suppressed a smile. It was going to be impossible to stand at the alter and not fight a hardon replaying this moment over and over again in his head. Further proof he was a sick puppy. He kissed the back of her neck with a grin. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

He picked up her purse and started for the door. She paused just long enough to grab her sneakers. He laughed out loud. "Babe."

"What?"

"You're wearing sneakers?"

"Of course I'm wearing sneakers. It's not like I actually own any pink shoes."

"I hope the bridal shop lady never finds out."

She rolled her eyes at him, but under it she was hiding a smile.

It took some effort to get her in the Porsche. She'd had to drop down into the passenger seat while he scooped and coerced the stiff layers of ruffles and skirt. The thought did cross his mind that he could scramble the cameras again and have some fun under the skirt right there in his 911, but he kept the thought to himself.

ooo

Steph

Ranger drove to the upscale neighborhood of expansive yards and big gates where Amanda's parents lived. Kinsey's car was parked between two Rangeman SUVs. As soon as we arrived, Kinsey kissed Amanda and left with Ranger. Only the fleet car that had come with us followed them. The other two stayed with Amanda, her parents and me.

Amanda and her parents were trying really hard not to look at the way I was popping out of my dress, but I could tell it was a struggle. Amanda's mother helped Amanda into her gown, and then we left for the church. The other bridesmaids were waiting in a room that had been reserved for the Bride and her attendants. They weren't nearly as discrete about the boob popping. The wedding planner's eyes nearly fell out. "What happened?"

I tried to shrug, but there wasn't a whole lot of room for that in the dress.

"This won't do," she said, thinking hard. She looked at the other bridesmaids in their peach colored Little House on the Prairie dresses, and then back to me in my Little Whorehouse on the Prairie dress. She shook her head and dug around in her bag. She went behind me, unzipped the dress six inches, and pulled out a needle and thread to bridge the gap. Trouble was this meant sewing me into the dress. Like this wasn't traumatic enough, Jeez!

It wasn't a perfect fix, but I was only half popping out now so she called it good, with the added pressure that if I broke the stitches at any point I might fall right out of the front of my dress. She took a white sweater from the tallest flower girl to cover the stitches. It wouldn't button and only came to the middle of my back, but it wasn't as uncomfortable as not being able to breath, and it covered the puffy sleeves. She dusted her hands as problem solved and buzzed off to right other wrongs.

In no time at all we were being corralled into the vestibule just outside the doors to the main cathedral hall. Surrounded by organ music. The wedding planner lined us up and checked our flowers and then vanished again. Oh god, I hated this part.

"Oh god," I heard Amanda whispering behind me.

"Take some deep breaths," I whispered back to her. "It's going to be fine."

"How can you be sure?"

I didn't know how to answer that. Didn't get a chance anyway. The music had swelled on cue and the hall doors opened. The first of the peach clad girls starting the slow, stupid walk into the room. There was no stopping it. First the flower girls went, then the other bridesmaids, and then it was my turn. I sucked in a breath and bit the bullet. Step touching into the room in my sneakers as the organ vamped up for the big bridal march. The whole congregation stood and turned to face us.

And then the air fell flat in the room.

Not good.

I whipped around and saw that Amanda wasn't there.

A scandalous murmuring filled the silence. The organist tried the vamp again in a move of desperation, but Amanda still didn't show. Every eye now staring at me. Oh boy.

I gave them a _give me a second_ gesture and turned tail. Hurrying back through the doors. I was hoping to catch the swishing white skirt of a runaway bride, but there wasn't any sign of her or anyone else in the vestibule. I hiked up my skirt and ran for the bridal room. Thanking god for the invention of sneakers. I threw the door open. "Everybody gets cold feet, I swear," I said. Afraid that I'd find Amanda on the floor crying in a puddle of white skirt.

Instead, my eyes met the cold sear of insanity in wells of pale blue.

He looked just like he had in the photo, except thinner. His face and hands badly scarred. I could still see the dimple in his chin, but one of his ears was completely gone. He was in army fatigues and armed to the teeth like Rambo. All that was secondary though to the way he held Amanda's back against his chest like a hostage. Silent tears running down her face because she was too terrified to make a sound. The arm holding her held a device with a red button. "Close the door or I'll blow the whole wall. It'll take half the church with it."

I threw a glance around me and saw the charges he'd placed at strategic points. Even if I'd been willing to leave Amanda, I would have never make it clear in time. I shut the door, but before I turned to face him again, I slid a hand over the watch Ranger had given me, turning on the audio. "Ranger will know that something's wrong. He and his men will come running."

"I already disabled the ones in the hall with a cattle prod, and if anyone tries to come through that door the wall with blow the same as if I'd pushed the button, taking the roof with it and killing all those people in the hall. Though I suppose if Ranger wanted to join us I'd be all too happy to release the trigger on the door and let him in without blowing us all to smithereens. That would be all the better for him in fact. He needs to see this to get the full effect. He has to watch you burn and know it's because of him. It's the only way to drive the devil out of his soul." He produced a lighter. "Do you like fire?" he asked, flicking a flame to life. "It's beautiful, isn't it? Free from the toxic influence of man's hatred or fear. Returning everything to a pure state. It's why they used to burn witches. Because it was the only way to release the soul from the body in its most sacred form."

Amanda whimpered. It made Orin smile in the most terrible way.

"It's natural to be afraid, but it will all be worth it I promise you. The terrible suffering will let you die clean."

"Why are you doing this?" she sobbed.

"Because you've been chosen," Orin said in her ear. "Kinsey chose you. Just as Ranger has chosen her," he said, nodding to me. "So now I have to cleanse you all."

"Why do we need cleansing?" I asked him, praying my voice was strong and even for Amanda's sake as much as mine. "What did Ranger do that you have to punish us like this?"

"He committed the ultimate sin. He betrayed his brothers."

"He would never—"

"He abandoned the unit," Orin said with an empty tone that could only be described as cruel serenity. "Encouraged Kinsey to follow him. When they left we were broken up and scattered to the winds."

"They left when their tour of duty was done."

"We were a brotherhood. It was a holy pact. While we were together we had divine protection. Once the bond was broken we were exposed. These scars I wear are the result of that broken bond. I was attacked by the devil. It would have never happened if Ranger and Kinsey had kept us together. They did the unthinkable. And now the devil stalks us and I'm the only one who can set it right."

He touched the flame to Amanda's veil and it flashed orange then black. She screamed and ripped it away. I wondered where Ranger was. If he was outside the door figuring out how to breach it without killing us all, or trying to get a line of sight through a window. Orin tightened his grip on Amanda, holding the flame so close to her face I could feel the heat through her expression. "You don't want to start with her," I blurted out.

Orin paused. "Why? She was about to marry Kinsey. There are few bonds stronger than that to make the suffering—"

"I'm pregnant."

There was only a flicker of change on Orin's face to show his break in concentration, but it was enough that when I waved at Amanda, she was able to break free and roll away. He watched her go but didn't chase her. He turned those crazy eyes toward me. "Ranger's."

I nodded.

"He knows?"

"Yes."

"Good. That will be good for him. To know the loss of his love and his unborn child all at once. That might be enough to make even a quick death penance."

"Why do you have to kill him?"

"Because I'm not allowed to die until Ranger and Kinsey die. I've known that since the day the devil visited me. Every man with me was blown to bits, but not me. I lost a foot, an ear, my face, but I didn't die. I was captured and caged for years after. And I still didn't die. Took me years to realize why. Once I discovered my mission I escaped. Inched my way out of the middle east to Europe where I could regain my strength. All because Ranger was the key. His sin had marked us all, and I knew I had to end him. Cauterize the wound. I never expected the devil would plant himself in you."

He dove for me with the cattle prod and I dodged him, tripping over a chair. I picked it up when he came again and cracked him over the arm, flinging the cattle prod out of his hand. He tossed the chair aside and snatched the only part of me he could reach. His fingers closed over the front of my bodice and tugged the moment I jerked back. I heard the stitching snap, the dress gaping open, breasts of full display. It would have been impossible for him not to look. Which is why I took the chance to punch him in the face. His head snapped back and his nose broke, but it didn't slow him down. He grabbed a fistful of hair at the back of my neck. Dragged me against the ammo belts that crossed his chest. Against the grenades and the homemade C4 wrapped in black electrical tape. The lighter flicked open again. The flame licking my cheek. I kicked him as hard and I could, but he just laughed. He was damaged beyond repair from the blast that all but killed him.

The blast that had taken a foot.

I kicked his ankle and the prosthetic leg fell off, throwing him off balance. He dropped me. I scurried to the wall just under the windowsill. Searching ten thousand layers of skirt trying to reach the Ruger. "That's not a distraction that will work again," he told me.

"Wanna bet?"

I found the garter and yanked the pistol. Pointed it at his chest.

Where one of the grenades was missing a pin.

I looked down at my bodice. The pin was hooked in the flower girl's sweater.

Oh god.

He saw it when I did and grabbed the grenade. I squeezed the trigger. The bullet caught him in the shoulder and spun him. And then a point of red laser shone off the back of his blond hair and the window above me broke with a spray of glass. He pitched forward over the sofa, landing facedown behind it. The explosion split the air. Filled the room with pink mist and the scent of char and fireworks. I was in shock. Ears ringing. Trying to make sense of the world. I freaked when a pair of hands grabbed onto me. Took me a second to realize it was Ranger. He gathered me up and pulled me out the window, and then Kinsey went through in my place. Left me clinging to Ranger while he checked me over to be sure I was in one piece. He lifted my chin, examining the burn with care. "Does it hurt?"

"Not yet."

"Looks first degree, but we'll have it checked out. Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"Just my dress."

"I noticed." He took off his tuxedo jacket and draped it around my shoulders.

Kinsey showed up in the window with Amanda in his arms. Lifted her over the sill to Ranger. He climbed back out and she threw her arms around his neck like she would never let go again. "We need to get clear until bomb squad gets here," Kinsey told us. "The door is wired like he said. Looks homemade, like the grenades. Probably had the detonator on him when he went up."

"Is he dead?" Amanda asked him.

"Yeah. He's dead. But it wasn't the devil. Pretty sure he's been dead for years."

"How much of that did you guys hear?" I asked him. The look Kinsey gave me was loaded. Oh boy. Then it hit me. "Crap! Didn't you say the audio would go to the control room?"

Hard not to see it when Ranger hid a smile. "Cat's out of the bag, Babe."


	31. Chapter 31

AU of Notorious 19, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Thirty-One

Amanda and I were given a quiet place in a vestibule off the chapel to rest while Kinsey handled the guests and Ranger coordinated with the bomb unit. It was so much better than being a target for attention. Ranger had sent a medic in to look us over. He'd put salve on our burns and checked our vitals. And then he'd left us alone again.

I looked at Amanda. She was as exhausted as I was. "Are you okay?" I asked her.

She nodded absently. "I think so. I mean, it was absolutely terrifying. And watching a man blow himself up was horrible. But it does finally feel like it's over. What about you? You actually fought him. You must be traumatized."

"If I'm being completely honest, this wasn't exactly a first for me. I've seen guys blow themselves up before."

Amanda gaped. "You're kidding."

"Nope. It wasn't technically my first brush with a crazy person either."

"How do you do it? How to you face all this and still leave your house every day?"

That was an excellent question that I didn't have an easy answer to. There were a lot of times when my life got scary, but I'd never really felt that hiding away from it was the answer. Part of that was because I would be bored out of my mind if I was stuck in one place too long. The other part was that in a sick way I kind of liked the rush. There was no way I was anywhere near calling myself an adrenaline junkie, but there were times when I saw the appeal. Liked the idea of doing the impossible. I was the kid that wanted to be wonder woman, and jumped off the garage roof trying to fly. And here I was, a grown adult and I was still trying to fly.

Amanda studied me a moment, hiding a smile. "You really should consider marrying Ranger."

"You're just saying that because you found out that I'm pregnant."

"It's not just that. I think the two of you make sense. I've seen that look in Robert's eyes before. Ranger has it in spades, and so do you. A kind of hunger for adventure or danger or something."

"I think that's just because I haven't eaten yet."

She really did have the cutest eye roll. "I'm just saying. If two people could ever understand each other, it would be you and Ranger."

I shifted a little. Didn't really want to tell her that Ranger would never ask. Getting married again wasn't on his bucket list. "So what happens now? Do we have to start the wedding all over again after they okay the building?"

"Actually, Robert and I have discussed it. We're going to elope on the way to the airport. Turns out I don't need a big church wedding or a fancy party. I just need Robert."

"I think that's nice."

"You don't think everyone will be disappointed?"

"What I think is that it shouldn't matter what other people think."

Her smile was genuine, tears welling in her eyes. "I hope you know how grateful I am for everything you've done for us. Thank you," she said, embracing me in a crushing hug. I hugged her right back.

All the wedding guests were invited to stay for the reception despite the runaway bride and groom, but since the open bar wasn't going to do me any good I decided I would rather go back to Rangeman and sleep for a year. Ranger still had cleanup to do, so he asked two of his guys to drive me. If I'd had any lasting hope that my prenatal announcement wouldn't spread like wildfire throughout the ranks, I would have been delusional. Both Brett and Raphael were looking at me like I was made glass. If I wasn't tired down to my bones I might have been self-conscious about this, but the way I was feeling Grandma Mazur could have driven a billboard truck down Hamilton and I wouldn't have cared.

I shucked the monstrosity of a dress and crashed the moment I got up to seven. Slept hard for what felt like hours. Eventually I was dragged awake by the comfortable tingle that I wasn't alone. The edge of the bed sank beside me. Opened my eyes to see Ranger watching.

"Did you get everything cleared up?" I asked him.

"Yes."

"Orin?"

"Defused and taken away."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," Ranger said. "I want to let it rest."

"Okay. But if you change your mind…"

"You'll be the first to know."

I nodded at that. Ranger didn't dwell on the past. He was moving on.

He watched me like he'd read the thought. The corners of his eyes crinkling. "Eventually you'll have to make a decision about Brody Logan."

"Cripes. I forgot."

"Understandable."

"I don't want to have to take him to jail. Not after all this. All he wanted was to save up enough money to take Tiki back to Hawaii." I thought for a second and came to a solid conclusion. "Am I still under house arrest?"

"Babe, you were never under house arrest."

"But the shadow…"

"Would be dependent upon your choice of activity. I doubt you'd need it if I'm following your logic."

"I want to buy plane tickets so that Brody Logan can take Tiki home to his volcano."

"You know, that could be considered helping a fugitive to flee."

"He bashed a police car. That's everyone's fantasy."

The crinkle turned into a full blown smile. "I'll have Tank make some arrangements. I can even have somebody drop him off at the airport for you if you'd like."

"Not necessary. But thanks."

I collected Brody Logan and Tiki from holding myself and brought him down to the Mercedes, buckling them in before I started for the highway. Logan didn't have any fight left. He was surprised when I told him I was taking him to the airport instead of to jail. I even went in with him to see that Tiki got through security without a hitch. I was on my way home when I decided to drop by Susan Cubbin's. The van was in the driveway. I went up and knocked. She answered nervous, eyes drawn to the bright burn mark on my cheek. "What the heck happened to you?"

"Run in with a deranged pyromaniac. I heard something about a gold bar."

Her lips pressed together, tears welling. "He didn't take any of the money he stole from those people, which can only mean that he really is dead. Jerkface is dead."

"You found the money?"

"All of it. Come and see."

She opened the door and brought me into the dining room where a set of blueprints were spread out across the table. Looked a lot like her yard. "I found the first one a couple days ago, just glinting there in the grass. Just the corner of it, like some kind of shiny brass button or something. But it was a whole bar of gold. Geoffrey was always talking about landscaping the yard, and how flowers were as good as gold, but in five years of work he'd never planted so much as a weed. At least that's what I thought. Turns out he'd been converting all that money he stole and was burying it in our flowerbeds. Took me a whole night to dig them up."

"All night?"

She pointed me toward the kitchen. I just about dropped. There were gold bars everywhere, stacked on every surface. So much glittering it looked like a pharaoh's tomb.

"How many are there?"

"A hundred and thirty-three. Not counting the first one. I sort of sold that one to a pawn shop to pay for shovels and a manicure. I don't know what to do now. I can't keep it. But I can't turn it over to the police either. It proves that Geoffrey was guilty all along and it would feel really terrible to be the one who ratted him out."

"But you'd be okay returning it to Cranberry Manor?"

She thought about that, and then nodded.

"I think I might be able to make that happen."

I called Ranger and asked if I could borrow enough fleet vehicles to move one hundred and thirty-three gold bars. He seemed pretty amused by the request. Turned up personally to oversee the transfer. He was laughing when he slung an arm around my neck to kiss the top of my head. "It amazes me how you manage to have all the fun."

"Do you think all five million is in there?"

"Maybe when they were purchased. But the price of gold has been going up pretty steadily the last several years. If my calculations are correct, there's approximately 6.6 million dollars' worth of gold being moved into my vehicles. Geoffrey Cubbin might just be the best thing that ever happened to Cranberry Manor."

"I wish that made it easier to find him. Between this and what we heard at The Clinic there's no way he's still alive. He's probably pushing up daisies in an unmarked grave somewhere." I looked down at the blueprint map on Susan's table. The one that marked all the places Geoffrey Cubbin had buried his crimes. I got a lightbulb. "Omigod. That's it. He has to be pushing up daisies somewhere."

"Babe, you're not going looney tunes on me are you?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "Is there any way we can find out what types of properties Franz Sunshine owns?"

"I had research make a list after you paid him a visit. Anything in particular you're interested in?"

"Anything that's out of the way with lots of land. Somewhere you could hide bodies. Franz Sunshine had his whole operation planned out in careful detail. He was operating for four years without anyone being the wiser. I'm thinking that meant he wasn't digging shallow graves in the woods somewhere."

"It's an interesting theory." He pulled out his phone and put in a call to the control room. His face lighting up with all 200 watts. "Babe, you're gonna love this. Franz Sunshine owns a cemetery off Route 1. Sunshine Memorial Park."

"That's genius. No one would notice a few extra bodies in a cemetery. I want to take a look after we're through here to see if Cubbin is in there."

Ranger thought I was amusing. "I figured you'd say that."

By the time we finished at Cranberry Manor and made it to the cemetery, the unkept fields in the undeveloped part of the lot were already being combed with dogs and ground penetrating radar. They'd identified three fresh graves. Radar suggested there was at least a dozen more. The older bodies had time to wait for a court order, but for my own closure I needed to be sure Cubbin was in there. Didn't take Ranger's guys long with the shovels to find a body that was a week past due with hair and clothes that matched. It would take dental records to be sure, but I was confident that this time I'd finally found him.

If I'd been in my usual pinch for money, I might have tossed Cubbin in my trunk and driven him to lockup to collect a body receipt, despite his condition. Thank god I wasn't that desperate. Instead, Ranger called it in and we turned the site over to the police. They'd be able to identify the bodies. Maybe close some old cases in addition to racking up more charges against Sunshine and his people.

The sun was setting when Ranger found me again. "We're about done here. Do you want to send your car home with someone so you can ride with me? I could take you to dinner."

"I was actually thinking I might stop by my mother's house. Grandma got pretty invested in this one. It's only fair I tell her how it ended."

"With the added bonus of dessert to go with the warmed up leftovers."

Ranger knew me well. "I don't suppose you want to come with me."

"Are you giving me a choice?"

"Well, my mother _has_ been asking about you."

He might have been thinking about smiling. He tossed a set of my keys to Binky and slung an arm around me, pointing us toward the 911. "Guess it's only fair, since we're sort of a package deal and all. I might even let you eat my dessert."

"You weren't going to eat dessert anyway."

Ranger let out a wolf grin, leaning far enough to reach my ear. "The dessert I like to eat isn't served at your mother's house."

I got a first class rush that must have blushed me from head to toe. Ranger laughed.

My mother hurried to make us plates the moment we got there, a little flustered at Ranger's sudden and unannounced presence. She'd never made a fuss over him before. He was always just the dangerous mercenary bounty hunter her daughter brought home to dinner. But I suppose after seven weeks of knowing he was going to be the father of my child and yet never seeing him at family dinner, she was feeling some added pressure.

Grandma came down in her dressing gown to sit with us at the table. I told her all about The Clinic and the cemetery, and then I told her about the gold bars. "Well isn't that a pip! Not only won't all those people get tossed out on their keisters, they've got themselves a windfall. Seems like it all worked out best for everyone."

Everyone but Geoffrey Cubbin, since he'd kind of had his organs stolen, but I wasn't sure it was the time to point that out. "I've been thinking. It might be time to lift the cone of silence on telling people about the baby."

Grandma's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yes. You were right. It's only a matter of time before everyone finds out anyway. You might as well make a splash. Baby, relationship, the whole nine yards."

"This is gonna be good. I'll be the talk of the beauty parlor. Miriam Wexler won't be able to get a word in edgewise. I don't suppose I get to tell the ladies you got yourself engaged to the studmuffin."

"No! You can tell them Ranger's my boyfriend. That's enough for now."

"Aren't you also living together since your apartment went up in smoke?"

My mother took a big swig of her Iced Tea at the end of the table, but she was still leaning in waiting for an answer same as Grandma. "Yes. I'm staying at Rangeman for a few weeks while Dillon repairs my apartment."

"Does this mean we might see the two of you more at family dinners?" my mother asked.

She was looking at me, but I could tell the question had really been for Ranger. I looked at him. Not sure how to answer. He didn't seem annoyed at all. Might have been a little amused. "I can't make any promised, given my unpredictable schedule, but we could certainly try," he conceded.

My mother chose to see this as a win.

We left with a bag of leftovers, even though we wouldn't need it with Ella. My mother had insisted. Plus, I wasn't about to turn down three quarters of a spice cake. Ranger set it in the back of the Turbo and drove us home to Rangeman.

It was sort of weird thinking of Rangeman as home, but not a bad weird. I wasn't sure how well it would work for me long term. I loved Ranger's apartment. I even liked the secured building with the premium parking spaces and the gourmet meals. The idea of living where Ranger worked, though, would take some getting used to. I mean, I was pretty comfortable with most of the guys that Ranger employed, but seeing them every day while they know I'm pregnant with the boss' baby seemed like it might get awkward.

Ranger let us into his apartment and devested himself onto the silver tray. Brought the leftovers into the kitchen and put them in the fridge. He took out a little Tupperware of raw veggies and gave Rex a baby carrot. "You've had an impressively eventful day today, Babe. Solved a case. Foiled a ring of organ thieves. Braved a fluffy pink bridesmaid dress and stopped a madman. You even handled 6 million in gold and dug up a dead guy."

"Don't forget surviving telling my mother we're living together."

"Or giving your Granny the greenlight on us."

I got the tingly sensation in my tummy again when he said us. Oh boy. I was starting to think the entire burg would believe Ranger was really mine before I did. "It was all in a days' work."

"That sounds like you might have some energy left."

"Why? What did you have in mind?"

Ranger smiled, pulling me into him with a gentle, promising kiss. "You enjoyed having your dessert," he whispered in my ear. "I was thinking I might like some too."


	32. Chapter 32

AU of Takedown 20, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Thirty-Two

16 weeks pregnant

Few things will make you question your sanity faster than watching a giraffe canter across 16th street.

Yes, it was late. Yes, I'd been sitting in my shiny black SUV with Lula for a couple of hours staking out Salvatore Sunucchi, aka Uncle Sunny, who had been released on an insanely high bond after a video was posted on YouTube of him running over Stanley Dugan with his car… twice. But I didn't think we'd been sitting there long enough to start hallucinating.

A black Escalade with a satellite dish and tinted windows squealed around the corner, vanishing onto 16th too. Screech of tires, a gunshot, and an ungodly shriek. Lula and I exchanged a look. Neither of us wanted to be the first to say it out loud. "Should we…" I asked her.

"Only if you think so."

"I mean, it wouldn't hurt to look, right?"

"Not when this thing is bulletproof."

I put the car in gear and pulled onto 16th, halfway afraid we'd see a couple big game hunter standing over 18 feet of yellow and brown spotted casualty spread out across the road. Instead, we found an ordinary guy lying facedown in the street.

"That don't look good," Lula said. "But I guess it coulda been worse."

"How could it be worse?"

"Well, he don't look run over, and I don't see no blood. Maybe he just passed out."

"Why would he pass out?"

"Maybe he thought he saw a giraffe being chased by a van. That'd make anyone loopy."

We stopped in the road and got out to look. I didn't see any blood, but I did see a tranquilizer dart big enough for an elephant sticking out of his right butt check. Lula toed the guy. Nothing. "You don't think he could be some kinda shapeshifter, do you?" she asked me. "Like maybe he used to be a giraffe and then some dentists saw him and chased him down, but as soon as he was unconscious he turned back into a man and they lost interest?"

"I think you watch too many movies."

"So what do you suppose we should do with him?"

I punched 911 into my phone.

It didn't take long for EMS to come and scoop him up. By then I was done in. My back hurt, I was tired and hungry, and I was ready for the quiet peace of Ranger's apartment. I dropped Lula by her Firebird and went home.

It had actually been pretty easy living with Ranger the last three weeks. A little weird maybe, but easy. It was a definite improvement over the last time I tried to cohabitate with someone. Ranger never got bent out of shape about me not buying bread or junk being in the peanut butter, because Ella was responsible for providing bread, and Ranger didn't eat peanut butter. He was sometimes home exactly at six. Other times he would have a late meeting or take a shift for one of his men and be gone all night. I didn't always know which it would be. Considering he wasn't home yet, though, I was guessing it was one of the latter.

I kicked off my shoes and went into the kitchen to make myself a peanut butter sandwich on worthless white bread. It really hit the spot. A glass of wine or a beer would have also hit the spot, but since I was sixteen weeks pregnant, that wasn't going to be happening any time soon. I found a note from Ranger on the fridge. _Covering night shift for Hal. See you at 7am. Need a favor._

Well at least he'd left a note this time. Ranger could be thoughtful, but he wasn't used to being accountable to anyone. I suspected this time it had as much to do with the fact Ranger had been working a lot as it did not wanting me to worry. We hadn't seen each other long enough the last few days for him to ask a favor. Lately it felt like we were ships passing in the night.

I looked at the note again. 7am. I rolled my eyes.

The note wasn't so I wouldn't worry. It was warning of an early wakeup call so I wouldn't shoot him with his own gun.

I watched a little television to unwind and then I went to bed. Woke up a minute before seven when a change in air pressure and a full body tingle accompanied the open and close of the front door. His footsteps faltered in the entry. I could sense amusement when he came into the bedroom, leaning over me to peck a kiss to my lips. "Babe. You left your shoes in the hall."

"You didn't trip over them, did you?"

Now I was really amusing him. "I can spot a tripwire in near total darkness. I think I can manage a pair of shoes." He brushed his lips over mine with more purpose. That familiar yumminess uncurling low in my belly. Everything about Ranger was yummy. From his perfect body to his mocha latte skin and incredible scent. He pulled back the covers and kissed my growing belly. Let me strip off his shirt. And then he covered me with six feet of smooth heat and feral sex drive. It didn't take long for him to get my pajamas on the floor. And then there was nothing but blinding need. I hadn't realized until that moment how much I'd missed him. Even just over a handful of days. Seemed he'd missed me too.

All the tension had gone out of him when he rolled onto his back, not quite willing to let me go. I nestled into him and nuzzled his neck in a way I knew he loved. "Was that the favor you needed?"

"Babe, if you ever do that as a favor we've got more problems than my work schedule. No, the favor is a bit of investigative work related to an important client of mine. His mother was found murdered a couple weeks ago. Strangled and left in a dumpster after her bank accounts were drained. Her son asked me to look into her death."

"Aren't the police investigating?"

"Yes, but the client wanted a private investigation done as well. It'll cover more bases and likely give him more direct updates than law enforcement would be willing to provide on an active case. I don't usually do this sort of thing, but the client is Ruppert Gillian. He was one of my first major contracts when I started Rangeman, and because he's a defense contractor, he's a significant source of referrals. He's also a good man who deserves to know what happened to his mother."

"Do you have any leads?"

"Nothing good. In the past eighteen months, three women have been found in dumpsters around Trenton. They were all robbed and strangled. They were all in their seventies. All lived alone, in different parts of the city. So far the police don't have any suspects."

"I knew one of the women. Lois Fratelli. She lived in the Burg a block over from my parents."

"Did you go to her funeral?"

"No, but I went to the viewing with Grandma."

"Anyone of interest there?"

"Not that I noticed. It was packed. There are a lot of Fratellis in Trenton, and there are always lots of people who come out for a murder."

Corner of his mouth twitched. "Like your grandmother?"

"Grandma comes out for _all_ the viewings. She gets extra dressed up for a murder."

The way I was laying on top of him, it was easy to feel the laugh even if it didn't make a sound. He kissed my head. "Melvina Gillian's viewing is at seven tonight. I have to go to represent Rangeman. I'd like you to go with me. You'll be able to get more information than I would. You'll know most of the people there. They talk to you. You might find a connection between Melvina and Lois. Mutual friends, shared interests, a stranger who suddenly entered their lives."

"I don't know. That's a pretty big favor."

"I'd be willing to hire you. You'd receive full compensation and benefits."

"You already pay for the apartment I'm not using and all of my medical expenses. You want to give me a salary and benefits on top of that?"

"I'm very motivated to get this solved."

"Do some of those benefits include things you don't offer your men?"

"You already get full girlfriend benefits. What more did you have in mind?"

"I don't know yet, but I bet I could think of something really dirty."

Ranger suddenly rolled over me with surprising reflexes for someone who had been up for twenty-four hours straight. He pinned my hands above my head, all heat and rough sensual growl. "Dirty. Kinky. Borderline illegal. You name it Babe and I'm in."

Eek!

That time when Ranger laughed, it was with his whole body. He gave me a slow, bone melting kiss. "I'm going to rest while you let that percolate. I've got a meeting in a couple hours. The viewing starts at 7, so be dressed and ready by 6:30. I suggest wearing something black and sexy."

"Why would I wear something sexy to a viewing?"

"So I'll have something to look at other than the deceased."

"You're terrible."

"Is that a no?"

"That's a maybe at best."

It was pretty rare to see light shining in eyes as dark as Ranger's. Pretty much just when I'm being a smartass. He gave me another brain smoking kiss that involved some highly skilled groping and then rolled off me again, letting me up so that I could take a shower. He was out like a light by the time I was done blow drying my hair.

I put on my usual uniform of a t-shirt and jeans. The jeans were maternity and had an expandable elastic waistband. When the pants had first shown up in Ranger's closet, I'd pointed out that there wouldn't be a place to clip my pepper spray or my stun gun and asked where I was supposed to keep them. Ranger's answer had been to keep them on one of his men, since I wasn't technically supposed to be taking down felons by force anymore. We had yet to see eye to eye on the subject.

I checked that I had pepper spray in my purse and that my stun gun was charged, and then picked up some greasy breakfast sandwiches on my way to the bonds office. Both Lula and Connie eyed me with interest when I came in. "You're in a good mood," Lula said. "Does that mean you finally pinned down The Wizard long enough to see his magic wand?"

"I see his wand all the time. It's just that he's been too busy to do any spell casting lately. I'm pretty sure this morning was mostly due to multitasking. He asked me to go to a viewing with him tonight. One of his client's mother was murdered."

"Yeah, but he could have asked you in a text message. He took the time to deliver that message in a sexy package. That shows he's real thoughtful."

It wasn't like I was going to complain. "Anything good come in for me?" I asked Connie.

"I wouldn't call them good. Just a couple chump change bonds. Ziggy Radiewski and Mary Treetrunk. Neither showed up for their court dates."

"What's Ziggy do this time?" Lula asked.

"Relieved himself on Mrs. Bilson's dog," Connie told her. "And then he mooned Mrs. Bilson. He said it was accidental, and he was the victim of temporary insanity due to alcohol poisoning."

"That sounds about right."

"I don't care about any of those," Vinnie yelled from his inner office. "I just want Uncle Sunny. He fucking killed a guy for chrissake. I don't care if it's you or Ranger or the fucking tooth fairy, I need him in cuffs and back in jail yesterday."

"You shouldn't be swearin' like that around Stephanie," Lula told him. "That baby in her's got ears and I read it can hear the outside world right about now. You could be corruptin' it's fragile mind."

"It's a fetus. I don't understand English."

"Maybe not, but it'll understand you're an angry toad with unhealthy sexual proclivities."

Vinnie was torn between glaring and bafflement. He decided against either and slammed himself into his office.

"He's not having a good morning," Connie said. "We're running in the red. That makes Harry very unhappy. And when Harry's unhappy, he tends to bring out his hammer. Vinnie's trying to avoid that hammer getting intimately acquainted with his fingers."

"I could think of a part or two worse than fingers," Lula said.

I took the files from Connie and added them to my messenger bag. "We staked out Sunny's apartment for four hours last night. We didn't see him. And that's not the biggest problem. Sunny is Joe's godfather. And Grandma Bella's nephew. He's related to half the Burg and everyone loves him. No one will rat on him. Nabbing Sunny would make me very unpopular."

"I still don't get what's so special about this guy," Lula said.

"He's charming. He's sixty-two, five-foot-six, and he sings Sinatra songs at weddings. He flirts with old ladies. He wears a red bowtie to funerals. On Thanksgiving and Christmas he helps out in the St. Ralph's soup kitchen. He's very generous with tips. And even if the Sunucchi-Morelli family doesn't always get along, they stick together no matter what."

"Even when one of them kills people?"

Killing people wasn't anywhere near an alienable offence when it came to the Burg. The Burg was something of an unofficial retirement community for the mob. Sunny might have occasionally killed people, set fire to businesses, fornicated with other men's wives. None of it was nearly as scandalous as having an unwed pregnant daughter or a house that wasn't company ready, and definitely didn't compete with a red bowtie or the ability to croon Sinatra.

"I don't suppose you heard anything on the police band about a giraffe galloping down 16th street last night?" I asked Connie.

"No. Was I supposed to?"

"We think we mighta seen one," Lula said.

Connie raised an eyebrow.

"At least it seemed like it was a giraffe last night," Lula said. "But then when I woke up this morning I had doubts."

That made two of us.

I balled up the greasy paper wrapping from my sandwich, tossed it in the trash, and then selected a maple glazed donut. "You ready?" I asked Lula. "I want to talk to Sunny's neighbors."

"Yeah sure. Just let me get some more coffee. If we see anything in the street again I wanna make sure it's for real and not some kinda half-sleepin' daydream."

ooo

We stood on the sidewalk looking up at the second floor of the four-story brownstone walk-up on the corner of Fifteenth and Morgan. On the surface, it looked like Sunny lived in rather humble circumstances, but in truth he owned the entire block, as well as several others throughout Trenton. Most of his businesses housed less than legal activities, which ranged from flesh peddling and bookmaking to collections. When Sunny was in residence, that list expanded to include wet work. I punched Sunny's number into my phone and listened to it ring. No answer. So much for the easy way.

I marched up the stairs to the second floor. There were only two apartments, so it was pretty easy to figure out which one was Sunny's. I tried knocking and was unsurprised when no one answered. I tried the door across the hall. The lady inside wasn't helpful, and neither was her giant and possibly rabid snarling dog. Lula and I scampered away like our asses were on fire. We burst out the front building doors and onto the street and ran into two middle-aged men coming out of the first floor nail salon. They were balding and paunchy and wearing bowling shirts, pleated slack and pinky rings. One of them had "Shorty" embroidered over the breast pocket. Either could have won a Tony Soprano look-alike contest. Shorty eyeballed me, and it wasn't flattering. "I hear you been asking about Sunny."

"I work for his bail bondsman. Sunny is in violation of his bail agreement. He needs to reschedule his court date."

"Maybe he don't want to do that," Shorty said. "Maybe he got better things to do with his time."

"I still need to find him. Do you know where he is?"

"Of course we know where he is, but we ain't about to tell you. In fact, if you value your health you'll forget you ever heard o' Sunny. I'd hate for something bad to happen. Right Moe?"

"Oh yeah," said the other guy. "It'd be a real shame. Bad things happen all the time. Even to pretty little girlies like you."

"Are you threatenin' me?" Lula said, hands on hips. "I don't think I like your tone, even if you do think I'm pretty."

"That's not the—" Moe said, momentarily confused. "Listen, are you gonna back off or am I gonna have to shoot you?"

"See, I like that even less. Do you think I'm pretty or do you wanna shoot me? Make up your mind."

"I don't think you're grasping the gravity of this situation," Shorty said.

Oh boy. This was getting out of hand.

I glanced left and saw something big and yellow galloping across the street a couple blocks away. "Holy cow. It's the giraffe."

Lula whipped around. "Where? I don't see no giraffe."

"He turned down 18th street."

"Gotta go," Lula said to Shorty. "Things to do."

We jumped into my Mercedes before Moe and Shorty could change their minds about shooting us and drove toward 18th street. Didn't see a giraffe.

"This is perplexing," Lula said. "It's not like he could get himself in a Subaru and drive away. I bet you couldn't even get him in a Escalade. He's a big sucker."

"At least he got us away from Moe and Shorty. It's not a good idea to antagonize mob guys. Even if they aren't smart enough to know they're being messed with. It's not a good life plan."

"I thought I was being playful."

"In my neighborhood, playful gets you cement shoes or a luxury tour at the dump."

My phone rang on the Mercedes Bluetooth. The center display said it was Morelli. Used to be I'd get butterflies when Morelli called. Now the butterflies were angry drunks contemplating their own mortality. I bit my lip and answered. "Yeah?"

"Hey Cupcake. I was wondering if you were free for lunch."

"This is unexpected."

"Not really. Truth be told, it's a sort of a work thing. Pino's? Around noon?"

"Okay."

"It's a date," he said and hung up. I was staring at the blank display wondering what I'd just gotten myself into. I could feel Lula staring at me. I cut a look her way. "It's just an expression."

"I didn't say anything. Did you hear me say anything?"

"He says it's a work thing."

"Yeah, if I were you I'd definitely stick with that when I tell Ranger. Cause if it wasn't a work thing, you'd be goin' on a date with your ex-boyfriend at a cop bar only a couple weeks after the whole city found out you're having Ranger's baby. I could see that getting awkward."


	33. Chapter 33

AU of Takedown 20, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Thirty-Three

Morelli was already in a corner booth when I walked into Pino's, working his way through a bread basket. He was wearing jeans and an untucked black T-shirt that partially hid the Glock on his hip. His thick black waves were curling over his ears and the back of his neck, his dark, whiskey colored eyes only slightly warmer than assessing cop. I've known Morelli most of my life. And until recently, we'd been in and out of what most people might call an adult relationship. I'd learned to read his moods pretty well. This one had little to do with the messy weirdness going on between us. "You didn't just invite me to lunch to catch up, did you?"

"Nope, though that would be nice. I caught a case last night and I heard from the EMS drivers that you were the last one to see him alive."

"Is this about the dart guy?"

Morelli nodded. "Ralph Rogers. He went into cardiac arrest at the hospital and they couldn't revive him. Apparently the dart contained some exotic kind of poison. And it contained a _lot_ of it."

"Enough to take down a giraffe?"

Morelli's thoughts skipped a beat. "That wasn't covered in the toxicology report."

"Shocking."

"I know I'm gonna regret asking this, but why would you go straight to giraffe?"

"Lula and I saw one right before we found Rogers."

"You're kidding me."

"Not even a little. We were conducting a stakeout and it just ran across the intersection at 16th and Morgan, being chased by a black Cadillac Escalade with a satellite dish on its roof. We drove over there to investigate when we heard gunfire and found Rogers in the middle of the street."

"And you drove _toward_ the gunfire because…"

"My Mercedes is sort of bulletproof."

"Of course it is. Let's back up. I'm having trouble wrapping my brain around you seeing a giraffe in downtown Trenton. Are you positive that's what it was?"

"Long neck, skinny legs with knobby knees, big brown spots. Yep, I'm pretty sure it was a giraffe."

"Why is this the first I'm hearing about it?"

"I don't know. I figured it would have been on the news or something last night. You didn't hear anything from dispatch?"

"Not a word, and I hate to admit this but the idea of asking is already embarrassing," he said, offering me the bread basket. "The car Ranger gave you is seriously bulletproof?"

"And armor plated. He said foreign dignitaries drive them in war zones."

"It's nice to know he's being proactive." The waitress came by with a pair of meatball subs and extra coleslaw. "I hope you don't mind that I ordered when I got here. I'm on a tight schedule."

"You got exactly what I wanted."

"One of my many talents. I know all the things you like best."

The way he said this coupled with the melted chocolate look warmed me up in places it shouldn't. Morelli did indeed know all the things. "So if the poison was that exotic," I said to keep things going, "does that mean it would be easy to trace? How many people could have gotten ahold of it?"

"Given the designer mix we're probably looking at something black market. The lab is running it against the database to see if there's anything in the ingredients or blend that might equate to a signature, but the truth is the darts could have come from anywhere. I might have better luck figuring out how a giraffe came to be running loose. Assuming there really is a giraffe."

"I _saw_ it."

Morelli shook his head. "Every time I think I've got a handle on how not normal your life is, God throws you a curve ball. I don't suppose Rogers said anything to you before EMS got there."

"He was already unconscious when we found him."

"Did you get the license plate on the black SUV or a look at the driver?"

"Sorry. It went by too fast. But how many Escalades out there have a satellite dish on the roof?"

"Was this a big dish, like for a news van?"

"It was small, like for an idiot drug dealer."

Morelli took a bite of his sub to mull that over. I felt for him that the only solid lead I'd given him was very possibly a hallucination. "Outta curiosity, who were you staking out when this all started?" he asked me.

Boy, this could go either way. "Uncle Sunny?"

The bite in his mouth didn't go down smooth. "Walk away from it. Let Vinnie give it to Ranger."

"Ranger doesn't do bond enforcement anymore."

"Then coopt one of his guys and make them do it. Ranger would understand. Going after Sunny is a no win scenario for you. There are a lot of people who are going to stand in your way, and some of them are vicious and crazy."

"Are you talking about your grandmother?"

"Yes. She's at the top of the list of vicious, crazy people."

"I'm sure I can handle it."

"Cupcake."

"Joe." Our eyes held a minute before he finally relented. "You know, you could always help me find him if you're worried," I said.

"As pleasant as that sounds, I've got a full case load already. That and, as screwed up as my family is, I kinda like being a part of it sometimes."

"He was charged with second degree murder!"

"Wait till Grandma Mazur skips bail and then talk to me."

I blew a curl off my forehead and dug into my meatball sub. Didn't take that long of a lull for me to notice the number of eyes on us. "Is it just me, or are we attracting attention," I asked him quietly.

"It's not just you. You're all anyone in the department can talk about the last couple weeks. You and Ranger and your plus one. I think they're all waiting for this to turn ugly."

"Why is it that everyone assumes we can't be friends?"

"Maybe it's because you broke my heart. Or maybe they're waiting for me to make a scene, or an indecent proposition."

"Is that something you're likely to do?"

"Can't say I'm not thinking about it."

"Which one?"

Morelli grinned. "You know, I'm kinda surprised I didn't get a knock on my door a few weeks back after I kissed you at the station. Either Ranger's informants were slacking that night or you and he had it out without me."

"He never said anything."

"Not sure if I should be relieved or insulted." He wiped his mouth on a napkin. "I gotta get back to work. If you think of anything else you'll call me?"

"Sure. And if you hear about Sunny…"

"Yeah nice try."

ooo

I decided to drop by my parents' house before I went back to the office. Partly because no matter how hard or confusing things got, it always felt like home. And partly because my grandmother was a treasure trove of gossip. She'd made camp in the middle of the grapevine. Chances were pretty good that she'd know things about Uncle Sunny that weren't on Connie's fact sheet.

She was waiting on the front porch when I pulled into the driveway. I got a wave from her and her arm waddle. Grandma was always happy to see me. "What a nice surprise. I was just hoping something interesting would come down the street. Your mother's in a mood and the cable's out."

"What happened to put her in a mood?"

"Oh, she's been getting calls the last hour about you being seen on a date with the Morelli boy."

"Jeez," I said, following her in. My mother was making minestrone soup in the kitchen, which was a pretty normal activity, but I could see the tension in her shoulders. Like she was itching to get out the ironing board and sear out some problem wrinkles. "It wasn't a date," I told her.

"You had a meal in public with a man who isn't the father of your child. A man you used to be almost engaged to."

"I had lunch with a colleague. I witnessed an incident last night that turned into Joe's newest case. He was hoping I saw something that might give him a lead. And anyway, who says I can't eat with a man who's not Ranger? What century is this?"

"Maybe if you were seen more often with the man you're supposedly seeing there wouldn't be confusion. Didn't he promise to start coming to dinner on Friday's."

"He promised to try when his work schedule permitted. He's been very busy." I saw it when my mother's eyes strayed to the cupboard. I was a trial. And now that the entire Burg knew about my impending Batbaby, I was a complicated trial. I took the moment to redirect to Grandma. "I'm looking for Uncle Sunny. He skipped out on his bond and I'm not having much luck finding him."

"He's a slippery one alright," Grandma said, helping herself to a cookie from the cookie jar. "If I were you I'd stake out the girlfriend."

"Sunny has a girlfriend?"

Grandma nodded. "He's a real ladies' man, if you know what I mean, but word is he's kept his toothbrush at Rita Raguzzi's house the last ten years. He was seeing Rita years before his wife died."

Both my mother and grandmother made the sign of the cross. Sunny's late wife was widely respected as a saint.

"I don't know why you're still doing that job," my mother said to me. "You're four months pregnant. You shouldn't be running around at all, let alone after criminals and murderers. It's not safe."

"My doctor said I could continue most of my normal activities."

"Chasing felons is not normal."

"He's aware of my profession. He said that eventually I'd have to go on light duty, but he hasn't mandated anything."

"Has he seen how you're showing lately?"

"My next appointment isn't until Thursday."

"You don't even need the money anymore, not with your child's father paying for everything. You could settle down and focus on getting ready for the baby. Be a homemaker. Maybe even a housewife."

I wasn't sure I was _ever_ cut out to be a homemaker, and housewife had some prerequisites I wasn't in a position to meet. And I didn't really want to admit it to my mother, but it sounded kind of boring anyway. And by kind of, I meant soul-crushingly. "I like my job. I meet a lot of interesting people."

"You meet _criminals_ ," my mother said. "And now you're going after the most popular man in the Burg. Already I'm getting phone calls that you should leave Uncle Sunny alone. Everyone _loves_ him."

"You just told me he was fooling around even when his wife was alive. That's not a nice guy. And besides, he kills people."

"He don't usually kill people anymore," Grandma said. "He's getting on in years. He's got peeps who do that now."

"What about Stanley Dugan?"

"That coulda been an accident."

"He ran over him twice! And then he got out of the car and choked him. There was a witness who videoed the whole thing on his iPhone."

"Well, Sunny shouldn't have run over Stanley," Grandma said, "but you gotta give him credit for still being able to put in a day's work."

"I have a ham for tonight," my mother said. "You could call him and see if his schedule is free."

"Who, Sunny?" I asked her.

"Of course not. Why would I mean Sunny?"

"It's just a little confusing since you're going out of your way not to refer to Ranger by name."

"Ranger isn't really his name, it's just what people call him."

"He said you could call him Carlos."

My mother pressed her lips together. She wasn't comfortable with that either. She didn't know Carlos any better than I did. We knew Ranger. It was one of the many things that made him inaccessible to her.

There was a time when my mother would have rather swallowed a cactus than consider Ranger a viable possibility for me as a romantic partner. Ranger wasn't marriage material, and there had never been any indication that he would ever provide her with grandchildren. Now that Ranger was in fact providing her with a grandchild, even an illegitimate one, I was actually rather impressed with how well she'd seemed to swallow back most of those fears. Most. "Maybe if he came to dinner more often I would get to know him well enough to call him by his name."

"I'll keep that in mind."

ooo

I called Connie when I got back to the car. "I need Rita Raguzzi's home address. Grandma says there's a chance she's harboring Sunny."

"I'll give it to you on one condition. You have to come and get Lula, she's driving me nuts. I think she drank a gallon of coffee and memorized the Wikipedia page on giraffes."

"Have you tried switching her to decaf?"

Connie wasn't in the mood to appreciate witty banter.

I picked up Lula on the curb file in hand like she'd been turned out. Connie was right, she was practically vibrating. And she had indeed memorized the entire internet about giraffes. She could tell me how tall they were, what they ate, how long their tongues were. She also said they could live up to twenty-five years in the wild, but expressed concern that Kevin's life could be significantly shortened running around in downtown Trenton. "Who's Kevin?" I asked her.

"The giraffe. I named him Kevin. And I gotta say, I'm real worried about him. He's gotta be lonely and scared. We should go find him."

"What would we do if we found him? It's not like he'll fit in the Mercedes. Besides, his owner has to have found him by now."

"Maybe his owner don't want him. Maybe he's an orphan giraffe. Like cats that go wandering and don't have a home. What do you call them cats?"

"Feral."

"Yeah, this here could be a feral giraffe."

I looked at my watch. "How about if we do a quick pass of Morgan and scope out the side streets, and then we go to Rita's?"

"That works for me."

We took Hamilton to Olden and turned off at Morgan, cruising down the street at a slowish crawl with the windows down, listening for giraffe sounds. I didn't have any idea what a giraffe sounded like, but Lula insisted she was an expert. We were on Sixteenth Street when a door opened toward the end of the block and Moe stepped out and lit up a cigarette. The tip glowed red with his first drag, but when he spotted us the euphoria soured. He stubbed out the butt and sauntered toward us. "I thought I was real clear about your prospects if I saw you looking for Sunny again."

"We weren't looking for Sunny just now, we got our eyes peeled for giraffe," Lula said.

"That's not a smart move neither. You never saw nothing like that, capiche?"

"Then what do you expect me to make of that pile of giraffe poop over there?"

Moe had a look like she'd asked him to solve a math problem while hanging upside down. He cut a warry glance in the direction of her finger. "That's from a really big dog."

"Nuh-uh. I saw a giraffe taking a poop on YouTube. Once you see a giraffe poop, you don't forget it. That there ain't from no dog, and it looks fresh too."

"I'm getting the impression you don't hear so good. Maybe this'll make it an impact," he said. Then he pulled out his gun. I muttered _oh jeez_ and mashed the automatic windows. He shot two rounds at my back door. Forehead furrowed. "What the fu—" My window sealed up just as he'd raise the muzzle to my face. He shouted something at me that I interpreted as a graphic threat, but I wasn't really listening. I was too busy putting the car in gear and squealing away.

"That asshole tried to shoot your Mercedes," Lula said.

"Good thing it's armor plated."

"Yeah, but that ain't the point. I bet he scratched up the paintjob. I bet this car'll need detailing now because of him, you should send him a bill."

"I'll put that on the list right after getting him to not shoot at me again."

We drove around the block and parked on the back side of the street. Got out to assess the damage.

"See?" Lula said, pointing out the little chips in my door. "He even left some little BB sized dents. That was irresponsible."

"I don't see any dents."

"You gotta look real close."

Boy. I don't think I'd really understood until now what it meant to be driving around in an armor-plated vehicle. Ranger really did take my safety very seriously. "We should get back in. I want to check out that building Moe was coming out of and I don't think it's smart to do it unprotected."

"That's some good thinking."

We inched the Mercedes down the side street and counted off houses. Parked behind an Econoline van. I wanted to know if there was a chance Sunny was in that building with Moe. After a while a woman pulled a silver Toyota up to the door and got out with a couple brown grocery bags. Moe came out to help her and they both went inside. So that was Moe's house, and that was likely Mrs. Moe. No sign of Sunny. We gave up and drove over to Rita's.

Rita Raguzzi was in no way happy to see us. In fact, one might hazard to say she was downright hostile. She even threatened to shoot me if I ever tried to apprehend Sunny in her vicinity. Sunny had only gotten bail by the skin of his teeth because he'd found a judge who liked Hawaiian shirts and mai tais more than he liked ethics. If I took Sunny back to jail, it wasn't likely that he would find a second judge who was that sympathetic. Rita had put in a lot of years and effort into Sunny and she wanted to cash in by marrying the philandering jerk before his bad heart gave out. She was pretty specific that if I got in the way of that, I'd end up full of holes and no one would ever find my body.

"I don't think she's gonna be that helpful," Lula told me when we were walking away empty handed. "But I got a good look in her windows while you were keepin' her distracted. Didn't see no signs of Sunny, but I can tell you she got a nice house. Everything looked new and neat. I bet she got a cleaning lady. I'd love to have a cleaning lady, wouldn't you?"

I put the car in gear and started for the office. "Ranger has a cleaning lady."

"So since you're shackin' up with him, that means you got a cleaning lady to. How's that go, I bet that's real nice."

I had to admit, it was pretty nice. Ella was like a magical being. Laundry fairy, fridge fairy, and room service fairy all rolled into one. "I won't lie. It's pretty sweet."

"See, you got it all. Fancy penthouse, cleaning lady, incredible orgasms from a Cubin sex god anytime you feel like it."

"Well, not anytime. He does work."

"Yeah, but you got that glow of a woman who's getting it on the regular. Either that or it's the pregnancy glow. It's hard to tell. But whichever it is, you're looking a lot less like something the cat dragged in."

"Gee. Thanks."

ooo

Connie looked up from her computer when we came into the office. "How'd it go?"

"We got skunked for the day," Lula said. "The girlfriend wasn't nice and we didn't even see Kevin."

"You should try later tonight," Connie said. "Sunny has to be sleeping somewhere."

"I can't," I told her. "Ranger asked me to go to a viewing with him tonight. He's been hired by one of his clients to look into the dumpster murders. He wants me to ask around."

"That might be a safer way to spend your time, considering you been threatened twice today," Lula said.

A black shadow scuttled past the large bay windows that faced the street and we all sucked in some air.

"What was that?" Lula asked. "That better not be what I'm thinking it was, because I'm thinking it was something that scares the heck outta me."

The front door banged open. Afternoon light pouring in around a small, frail, and terrifying silhouette. She was dressed all in black like something straight out of The Godfather, gray hair pulled back into a bun, sharp bird of prey eyes blazing under her thick black eyebrows. She marched in and we all eased back against the pervasive fury. "I thought I would find you here," Joe's Grandma Bella said. "I always knew you were no good. First you break my grandson's heart again and again, then you fornicating with another man and get with baby like a slut. Now you after Sunny. You have this coming. I put the eye on you!"

Connie ducked behind her desk and Lula jumped back and pressed herself into the wall, like they thought a bomb was a about to go off. "You're not supposed to be giving people the eye," I said to Bella. "I could tell Joe's mother on you."

"She give you good too," Bella said. "You cross our family, you get the eye."

"Finding Sunny is my job."

" _MY_ job to give you the eye. Stop you in your tracks." She scrunched up her face. "You ready?"

I blew out a sigh. "Yeah."

Bella pulled her lower eyelid down with her finger and glared at me. "Okay," she said, releasing the lid. "I got you for sure. I give you a big one." She shook her finger at me. "You stop this job. No more slutting." She whirled around and marched out the door again, vanishing into the street with the air of brimstone.

"I think I wet my pants," Lula said.

Connie came up from behind her desk. "You're in for it now. That is one crazy old lady."

"What do you think she did to you?" Lula asked me. "Do you feel any different?"

"No."

"Well I don't see your teeth falling out yet, and you don't got no boils or no donkey ears or nothin'. That's gotta be a good sign."

"There's no such thing as the eye," I said. "I have to go anyway. Ranger wanted to leave at 6:30 tonight and I have to eat something and change clothes."

"Sure," Lula said. "But maybe just in case, you might want to stop by a church and light a candle or something. 'Cause by my count that's three times you been threatened, and that last one was a doozy."


	34. Chapter 34

AU of Takedown 20, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Thirty-Four

Ranger

Ranger was used to a high pressure schedule, but it had been more difficult since Stephanie moved in with him. Normally he didn't mind working late. Never really valued his downtime. Used to spend it in the gym or at the range. Now his downtime came with a near guarantee of seeing her. Transforming his space from an empty refuge to a place he actually wanted to be.

He felt her energy long before he opened his front door. The static tingle of a coming storm. That made him smile. He set his gun on the silver tray in the entry and followed the tingle to his bedroom. She was in one of the black dresses Ella had picked out, and looking very sexy. The deep V neck crossed her chest and showed off the increase in cup size the pregnancy had given her. It also did nothing to hide the growing swell of belly. She'd already let her granny spill the news, but even if she hadn't there wouldn't be a whole lot of doubts about it in this dress. That in itself was kind of a turn on. He glanced at his watch. Damn. There wasn't time for that. Steph needed at least ten minutes of foreplay if she wasn't already excited. And as much as it would be worth being late, he couldn't really justify it. He'd just have to wait until they came home later.

She watched him strip off his work uniform and slip into one of his tailored black suits. He didn't bother with a tie. She liked it when his black shirt hung open at the collar anyway. Made her eyes dilate like she was thinking about kissing his neck, or brushing her tongue along his throat. Either of which would have made it impossible to pass on the chance to get her naked. He pulled on his jacket and gestured her toward the door. Picked up his gun and tucked it at the small of his back again.

He had a Rangeman fleet vehicle saving a spot for them directly in front of the funeral home. The place was packed. Not completely unexpected, considering the unfortunate circumstances of Melvina Gillian's death. Steph's granny wasn't the only one who frequented the funeral home on the regular, and even the non-regulars always seemed to come out for a murder. It wasn't a cultural phenomenon he understood, but he wasn't one to judge, either.

The crowd was so dense when they moved into the building that Steph's back was on his chest. "So what are you going to be doing while I'm talking to people?" she asked him.

"I'll be watching you."

"You realize this is our first time being seen together since the news dropped that I'm pregnant."

He'd noticed the extra eyes, but it hadn't occurred to him that might be the reason. Should have. The neighborhood where Steph grew up wasn't all that different from his own upbringing. A little softer maybe, since the Burg wasn't nestled between street gang territories like his childhood home in Newark. But the strict moral code and Catholic judgement was the same. He'd avoided the heat after he got Rachel pregnant because he'd married her fast enough to placate the handful of people who'd been in the loop. Steph was facing it from pretty much every person she had ever known, without any hint of resolution. And somehow didn't seem the least bit phased by it.

Ranger wrapped his arms around her, hand on her belly, and kissed her ear. "Do your thing. I'll be two steps behind you."

Steph picked her way into the crowd ahead of him, aiming for the viewing room. Didn't take a lot of effort for him to follow. People had a tendency to get out of the way when they saw Ranger coming. She'd get better information, though, if he wasn't hovering over her shoulder. She spoke to several women she seemed to know. Caught a few lecherous drunken passes from guys old enough to be dust. Eventually she made it to the front where her grandmother had a pair of prime seats reserved up close to the action, surrounded by all the other hardcore viewing fans. Stephanie slid right in, sinking deep into the whispered gossip.

Ruppert stood beside the head of his mother's casket, accepting carefully composed condolences from the procession of mourners and not really hearing a word of it. His eyes found Ranger a few times where he stood watching at the back of the room, sweeping faces for anything out of the ordinary. They both knew there was a chance the perpetrator would attend. Especially given it was likely someone she knew. He didn't see anything unexpected though, beyond the occasional approach of a blue haired granny taking an interest on a granddaughter's behalf in the handsome, stoic, ringless Cuban man standing alone at the back of the room.

By the time the funeral parlor directors indicated the viewing was ending, Ranger was ready to pull his gun just so he wouldn't have to politely turn down any more phone numbers. He caught Steph's waist with a familiar hand, pulling her close. He put his mouth on her ear. "Babe, if I have to spend another ten minutes here I'll put a bullet in my brain."

Steph's granny turned a beaming smile on him. "Don't you look nice in your suit. Black is a good color on you."

Edna's friend was at her elbow, leaning into her with a stage whisper. "Who's the hottie with your granddaughter?"

"That's her boyfriend Ranger," Edna stage whispered back. "I've been tellin' her she needs to lock 'im down, but so far they're just living together and pregnant."

"That's basically engaged," the friend said back.

"That's what I said, but she won't hear it. I think she's holdin' out for a big ol' ring."

"Jeez Louis," Steph said. "We can hear this conversation."

Ranger held in a chuckle and brushed his lips to her ear. "I'll let you lock me down if you want, Babe. It could be one of those perks I don't offer my men."

"Your ten-minute countdown clock is ticking," she said.

She said goodbye to her grandmother and dragged him out the side door to the Turbo. She dropped her cute little ass into the passenger seat and he lost the fight not to laugh. Angled into his own seat and turned toward Rangeman. "What did you learn tonight?"

"Apart from the fact you'll talk dirty in front of Grandma?"

"Yes."

"I'm not sure if it means anything yet, but all of the murdered women played Bingo. Two were regulars at the Senior Center, one at the firehouse."

"Anything else?"

"I spoke to a lot of women on my way through the lobby, but only one of them knew all three victims. She plays Bingo five days a week, two days at each place and the last one online."

"Did any of our victims play online?"

"I don't know."

"What about their social lives? Any mutual friends aside from the Bingo addict?"

"The last time Melvina went to Bingo she told everyone she had a boyfriend, but no one knew his name or anything about him. It sounded like dating was unusual for her."

"Ruppert didn't mention a boyfriend."

"Did you go through Melvina's apartment?"

"Yes, but I didn't come up with anything. There was a ten hour window between time of death and when she was identified and the police sealed up her apartment. Plenty of opportunity for her attacker to break in and remove evidence."

"It's so upsetting. The thought that there's some creep out there murdering women and discarding them like garbage."

"If it makes you feel any better, the women were all nicely wrapped in a sheet, and the killer left a note on the dumpster each time to ensure they would be found."

"What did the note say?"

Ranger touched the remote button on the Porsche ceiling to open the gate to the underground parking garage. "'Body inside.'"

That sat even worse with her. She hated that the note was so impersonal. Completely devoid of remorse. Ranger parked in his spot and shut off the engine. "How would you feel about going to Bingo at the Senior Center tomorrow night?"

"Would you be going with me?"

"I'd run through an active minefield before I'd _willingly_ go to Bingo night at the Senior Center. But I would be happy to cover it with generous compensation, and if you really wanted to negotiate something dirty or kinky in there you're welcome to borrow my handcuffs."

She got a full body shiver at that and he angled out of the car to cover his laugh. Opened her door for her and offered a hand to lift her out. She was doing a lot of thinking on the ride up to seven. He really hoped she was considering the handcuffs. He'd always wanted to use them on her, but turnabout was easily fair play.

He caught her fingers and pulled her to him as soon as they were alone. Brushing a kiss to her lips. Light at first. And then he let the kiss deepen. Building the friction between them until she was trying to tear his clothes off. He slung an arm around her waist and lifted her off her feet, carrying her to the bedroom. Stripped her bare an article at a time while he watched the seductive heat grow behind those vibrant blue eyes. Dilating them to pure sapphire. He moved over her and stroked her panting, pushing inside. Feeding off her excitement while he listened for the breathless gasps that meant he was on target.

Instead her breathing got labored. He paused. "You alright, Babe?"

"Of course, I just lost focus for a second, keep going."

He slowed. Taking his time to stoke the fire again, building her higher and higher. But her intensity was way off. He could feel it. "Babe."

"I'm sorry, I'm trying."

"Stephanie, you shouldn't have to be trying and you should never be sorry. Just talk to me."

She bit her lip. "It's sort of hard to breath, I can't concentrate."

He lifted off her and saw the mix of relief and disappointment when she pulled in a deep breath. "I'm too heavy," he guessed. "The pressure on your belly is pushing everything into your lungs."

"Maybe a little bit."

"You could have said something."

"I didn't want to make it weird."

"Steph you're growing a person, it's gonna get weird sometimes. And that's okay. This is a learning curve for both of us."

"Not for you. You went through all this with Rachel."

"I didn't go through anything with Rachel. I was deployed for most of her pregnancy and nearly all of our marriage. The little of it I was around for wasn't anything like this."

"Awkward?"

"Attached," he said. "Not emotionally. Not physically."

"Are you saying you didn't sleep with your own wife?"

"Not after Julie's conception, no. Our marriage had one purpose. Legitimizing Julie. In that way it was nothing more than a legal contract to protect them, financially and socially. Sleeping together on the handful of occasions I was stateside would have just complicated things." He stroked her curls from her temple, lingering there. "Steph, I've never tried to make love to a pregnant woman before, and I've never been in a sexual relationship this consistent. I've certainly never been this attached to someone. This is very much a learning curve for me."

"Wow. I don't know what to say."

He didn't bother hiding the smile. Steph speechless was indeed a rare sight. "Would you like to try a few other positions? Find something less strenuous?"

"I didn't completely ruin the mood?"

"Babe, as long as you're still comfortable and consenting there's no such thing as a ruined mood." He lowered enough to kiss her breast, tracing his tongue over her nipple. She squirmed with pleasure.

His phone buzzed on the bed next to them. Still in the pocket of his hastily discarded pants. Text from Tank. _PD found another body._ Followed by an address.

Damn. He hated being wrong. There was still one way to ruin a mood. He punched in the shorthand for _be right down_. "That was Tank. The control room picked up news on the police scanner that they found another body. Center city, not far from here. I need to go and check it out."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"Not necessary. I'll let you know what I find."

She nodded, touch relieved. Steph wasn't thrilled with dead bodies on a good day. She'd definitely hate seeing a woman her grandmother's age fished out of a dumpster.

He gave her a tender kiss and reached for his pants. Pulling his shirt back on on the way to the door.


	35. Chapter 35

AU of Takedown 20, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Thirty-Five

PD was still setting up a perimeter when he parked the Turbo and approached. The body was a fresh find. Maybe a few hours old. Uniforms were holding back the handful of bystanders and stringing police tape. Didn't take Ranger long to realize he was attracting a similar amount of sideways glances as he had at the funeral home. True that there were certain circles that knew him pretty well, but this was new. If Steph hadn't pointed it out at the funeral home he might never have realized the reasoning.

They were staring at the guy who got Morelli's girlfriend pregnant.

Ranger slipped under the police tape without resistance. Found the case's lead detective standing by the dumpster drinking Pepto straight from the bottle. Butch Shiller was in his early fifties. Stress grayed hair. Over-tired eyes. Zero sense of humor. Not the type to appreciate private sector eyes over his shoulder. He hadn't exactly been a fountain of information so far, but considering the antacid swilling and the dead-end shadow to his eyes, he was just desperate enough to tolerate it.

"Remind me why you keep sniffing around this case," he said, eyes on the Crime Scene Unit dumpster dive.

"Ruppert Gillian is a client."

"And he doesn't trust my department to do our jobs?"

"He wants to feel like he's doing something."

Shiller cut him a brief side look. Placated by the diplomatic answer. "Body was found by an employee from the Italian restaurant. She was takin' out the garbage after closing. Saw the note."

"Does anything else fit the MO?"

"You mean did she have venetian blind cords wrapped around her neck? Yeah."

"ID?"

"Not yet. So far all we know is mid to late sixties. I'm hoping she'll have an ID in her purse. It was wrapped up with her. Along with the rest of her clothes."

Yeah, leaving Steph at home had been a smart move. No way she would have liked any of this.

They watched CSU lift a stained, white linen sheet out of the dumpster and set it on the asphalt. Let the sides splay open. It was impossible not to think of Edna Mazur. Frail, starved pheasant body. White hair still striving to cling to a perfect beauty parlor set. She was more exposed though than he'd ever want to think of Edna. Pretty rose colored bra and matching panties. What Steph would have called Date Underwear. Her clothes and purse wrapped up with her like an afterthought. And as promised, her neck was wrapped in blind cords.

"Three bodies in eighteen months, and then he takes a fourth only ten days after his previous kill? That's quite the escalation," Ranger said. "What's the profile say on this guy?"

"Detailed and meticulous. No DNA left behind, no usable prints. No hesitation marks either, which suggests he's comfortable with killing. In fact, since the MO hasn't shown any signs of evolution, my guess would be this guy's been at it a while."

"Is there significance that all the victims are older women?"

"Could be indicative of a mother complex, but it could also be influenced by the killer's age. He's likely charming, given that he was able to get these women alone. We haven't found any defensive wounds that would indicate a struggle. And he's sophisticated. Covers his tracks. Drains their bank accounts without a trace. He could have disposed of these bodies at the dump or in the Pine Barrens and expected that they'd never be found. Instead he folds them up in a sheet and drops them in a dumpster in the middle of the city with a goddamn note. That doesn't just make a statement about how he sees his victims, maybe women in general. It makes a statement about us. He's flaunting these killings like there's nothing we can do about it."

"You think it's pathological?"

"Worse. I think he's doing it for fun."

"Any word yet if Trenton is his only playground?"

"I got someone working the national database, but it'll take some time."

ooo

Steph

I was alone in the bed when I woke up just after seven the next morning. I vaguely remembered seductive kisses on the back of my neck and some strategic touching, but the memories were veiled and I was still wearing my underwear, so I was guessing I'd been too tired for Ranger to successfully wake me up. Disappointing. Then again, after my botched performance last night, that might be a relief. Normally being with Ranger was intense and kinetic. Fire and magic, completely unreal. Last night had been terrifyingly real. Like having a magic trick explained away by science way more amazing than you thought the magic would be. And then he'd had to run, leaving me naked and vulnerable in his bed. Wondering what the hell had just happened.

I blew out a sigh.

I rolled myself out of bed and staggered into the shower. Hoping the warm water and sexy soap might help in the waking up department. It was mornings like this that I really missed coffee. Things were clicking better by the time I got out of the shower and toweled off. I did a quick examination. No warts, no boils, no hideous rashes. Hair still thick and strong. No teeth falling out. Not that I believed in Bella's ability to give people the eye. But still. It was nice to confirm that nothing truly awful had happened to me during the night.

I got dressed in my newest maternity jeans and a stretchy top and drove to the bonds office. Lula looked me up and down. "Uh-oh. You look like you didn't get any."

"That's confidential information."

"Yep," Lula said to Connie, "she didn't get any. What the heck happened? I thought you and Mr. Babydaddy had a date last night."

"We went to a viewing for work. That's hardly a date."

"It don't matter the activity with that man. He's sex walkin' even when he's standin' still. You tellin' me he's so busy he can't cast spells lately and the one night you get him all to yourself you don't butter him up and nibble him like an ear a corn?"

Connie choked on her coffee.

"Ranger got called away last night. The police found another body."

Connie blotted her desk with a napkin and nodded. "Rose Walchek. Sixty-six. Lived in one of those little row houses on Stanton Street, by the button factory. Widowed, no children."

"Strangled?" I asked her.

"Sounds like it."

The front door opened. I turned to see Morelli lean in. He crooked a finger at me in a _come here_ gesture. I tried to ignore the exchange of looks from Lula and Connie and followed him to the curb. "What's up?"

"I had seven people call me last night and tell me you and Ranger were seen at the Gillian viewing, and that he showed up at a related crime scene not long after."

"Ranger was asked by a victim's son to look into the case."

"Ranger's not a P.I."

"It's more like a favor for a very good client."

"You know, most women tend to steer clear when they hear a serial killer's on the loose. You're the only woman I know who chases them. Hell, you've dated one."

"That wasn't my fault. My mother ambushed me with the setup and he wouldn't take _I have a boyfriend_ for an answer."

"Seems there's a lot of that going around," he said under his breath. I frowned at him. He dropped it, but he didn't take it back.

"Have you heard anything about Sunny lately?" I asked him.

"Not much. Word on the street is that he has a new pet project, but nobody's saying what it is. Doubt it would help you find him anyway. He's not all that interested in twenty to life. Emphasis on life, considering his bad heart."

"Do you know where he's hiding?"

"You want me to rat on my godfather?"

"Yeah."

"It might be tempting if there was sweaty gorilla sex on the table, but since you have a new boyfriend and I don't particularly feel like getting disappeared…"

"Are you saying you'd only help me in exchange for sex?"

The grin was almost cute. "Okay, no. But you can't blame me for wishful thinking. Truth is I don't actually know how to find Sunny. I just know he's moving around a lot. Mostly I've been aiming for plausible deniability. So what is it exactly that Ranger's having you do on the dumpster murder case? I thought for sure he'd be pushing for maternity leave by now."

"He's just having me ask around, since I have better access to the people who knew the victims. Tonight I'm going to Bingo at the Senior Center."

"Oh goody."

"You can stop with the grinning. It's a lead. Bingo was a common interest for all the murdered women."

"Ranger should offer you time and a half for hazard pay. I heard those ladies are tough."

"That's not the worst of it. Your grandmother put the eye on me."

"Bummer."

"That's it? Bummer?"

"There's no such thing as the eye."

"Are you sure?"

Morelli thought about that a second. "Actually, no."

"Than _do_ something. Get her to take the whammy off me."

"I'll talk to her," he promised.

I watched Morelli get into his green SUV and went back inside to collect Lula. "Let's go get Sunny. I'm tired of being the bad guy in this."

"Now we're talkin'. Let's go root us out a crooner."

ooo

It took us fifteen minutes to get to Rita's house in Hamilton Township. I parked a half block down, watching the quiet street through the windshield. "So what's the plan here," Lula asked me. "I know she's our number one candidate for harboring Mr. Bowtie, but she did say she was gonna shoot you if you tried to take Sunny."

"Only if I broke into her house."

"That don't instill me with a lotta confidence."

"It'll be fine." I hoped. "I'm gonna go look in some windows. Maybe we'll get lucky and Sunny'll take out the garbage or something."

"Or we could just sit here in the nice bulletproof car and watch, and then call in one of them Rangemen when we spot Sunny. I bet they got vests and everything."

"You don't think we can take down a little old man by ourselves?"

"What I think is my big beautiful ass don't want no bullets in it."

A black Lincoln Town Car cruised down the street and swung into Rita's driveway. "Looks like it might not be an issue."

"Well, shut up," Lula said. "You think they're doing a pick up or a drop off?"

"I'm guessing pickup."

We watched for a few minutes, and sure enough the front door opened and Uncle Sunny walked out and got into the backseat of the Lincoln.

"Now what?" Lula wanted to know.

"Now we're going to follow them. With any luck Sunny'll end up somewhere we can make an apprehension without his henchmen around."

The Lincoln rolled out of the driveway and started back the way it came. They didn't seem to notice when we followed it. Or maybe they didn't care. There was a decent chance they saw me and Lula as a nuisance and not a genuine threat. We kept a careful distance all the way to his home base on Morgan and Fifteenth street. The Lincoln stopped on Freeman and Shorty, Moe and Sunny got out of the car and walking into a three story brownstone. A young guy ran out of the building a moment later and drove the car away.

"Mafia valet parking," Lula said.

"This is one of Sunny's buildings. He rents it to the Chestnut Social Club."

"I performed at the Chestnut Social Club when I was a 'ho. It was a bunch of old Italian geezers who liked talking about the good old days when they could get a boner."

"You know the layout of the building?"

"Haven't been there in a bunch of years, but I bet it ain't a whole lot different. Used to be they played dominos and cards on cheap-ass tables and folding chairs on the ground floor. Bar and kitchen on the second. They had a TV and some leather couches up there too, and a room with a bed. I never been on the third floor, though. I figured that's where they counted the day's receipts."

"Not an ideal place to make a bust."

"It might not be so bad. It's someplace Sunny feels safe, so he prolly won't have his lackeys with him. I'd bet he'll go upstairs to see what they took in last night, and Shorty and Moe might not feel like climbin' all them stairs. They might wanna watch some dominoes and scarf up cannolis."

"How would I get to Sunny if he's on the third floor?"

"Backstairs. Every floor got a little balcony with stairs connecting them. It's an emergency exit they could use if they gotta sneak out. I know about it because it's the 'ho exit."

We found a discrete place to park and got out to look at the stairs. "I don't see any doors. Just windows."

"The windows open to a stairwell that have doors on each floor. You can go up on the inside or the outside. Only on the inside you might run into one of them shriveled up Chestnuts, so I'd go outside."

Outside would mean anyone who looked out a window in a neighboring building would see me, but the one directly next to us looked like it was being renovated, and even if it wasn't I'd rather face the police than a retired mob guy any day. We climbed the outside stairs up to the third floor window and gave it a tug. "It's locked."

"Could be they don't use this window much. Let's try one down." We tried one down. It was locked too. "Well, it is just a window, and accidents happen," she said. Without warning Lula swung her purse and broke the window. An alarm started bleating. "Shoot, I wasn't counting on that."

We bolted down the stairs and hid behind a construction dumpster. The back door to Sunny's building opened and two overweight and balding guys came out. They looked around, then peered up the side of the building. Neither looked motivated to make the climb. They dismissed it as a suicidal bird and went back to their card game. The bleating stopped. Someone had turned off the alarm.

Lula and I crept out from behind the dumpster and went up the stairs again before they had the chance to turn the alarm back on. Lula stuck her hand through the fractured glass and unlocked the window, shoving it open. "You got a gun, right?" she asked me.

"I don't need a gun. I have the pepper spray and my stun gun."

"I'm gettin' them doubts again."

"This was your idea!"

"Yeah, but since when do we listen to me?"

"If you're scared you can wait here and keep a lookout. I'll call you if I need help with Sunny, and if you see anyone coming up the stairs text me and I'll get the heck out of there."

"If you say so."

I tried to do a graceful catburglar crawl through the window and tripped over the sill. Effectively spoiling my James Bond fantasies. I resisted the urge to swear and put my ear to the door. Heard noises from a television and conversational voices. I tiptoed up to the third floor and eased the door open. Found Uncle Sunny sitting at a long table counting money in front of a middle-aged lackey and a monster safe. His eyes met mine the second I saw him. Crap.

"Did you order takeout?" the lackey asked Sunny.

"She's a bounty hunter," Sunny said. "And she's a pain in the ass."

The lackey turned and reached for the gun sitting on top of the safe, but I got to him first and tagged him with my stun gun. He seized up and fell over like a sack of potatoes. Sunny's chair scraped back and he bolted for the door. I lunged and tackled him, taking us both to the floor. We wrestled for a minute, grunting and cussing. He might have had thirty pounds on me, but he had thirty years on me too. He paused to catch his breath and I snapped a cuff on his wrist. More scrambling and I got the second cuff. I scooted away, panting with my back to the wall. The door beside me shoved open suddenly and I nearly died. I tagged the newcomer on the ankle before he could attack and saw a big tower of black seize up and crash to the floor.

It was Cal.

Tank showed up in the doorway a second later, total brick wall when he took in the scene. "What the hell happened?"

"I panicked. I thought he was a mob guy."

Cal's fingers were twitching. But then, pretty much all of him was twitching.

Tank shook his head at me. He thought I was a trial too. "Your bounty's the one in the cuffs, right?"

"Right."

Tank cuffed the other guy to the safe and grabbed the metal bracelets that connected Sunny's wrists in one massive hand, hauling him to his feet. Shoved him my way before he scooped Cal off the floor into a fireman's carry. Cal was six feet five inches of terrifying tattooed muscle and Tank was treating him like a heavy army pack. "We need to move out. I don't have the backup to shoot our way out of this. You got him?"

"Yeah I got him."

"Good. You first."

Sunny only resisted a little when I pushed him toward the stairs. He realized that the massive man-wall would drop his cargo at the slightest trouble and possibly rip him in half. I got him as far as the second floor landing before he made a desperate bid for freedom. Dove for the door that stood between us and whoever was watching television in the next room. I grabbed hold of his collar to stop him and we swung together into the wall. My back hit first, knocking the air from my lungs. His head hit next. His skull bounced back and he flopped onto the landing. "Cripes!" I whispered. "He's out cold. I can't carry him."

Gunshots boomed upstairs. Tank hadn't searched the guy when he cuffed him to the safe. The voices on the other side of the door called out in alarm. Tank shoved me out the window and down the stairs, one hand closed around the back of my shirt to keep me from falling.

"What about Sunny?"

"Sunny's on his own," Tank said.

The stairwell door banged Sunny in the ribs when it failed to open. We were halfway down a flight by then. The shouts got clearer when they reached the window. So did the gunfire. Muzzle flashes and the sing of bullets pinging metal stairs. Tank flung Cal over the side halfway down the last flight and my feet left the ground. His deep bass barks going over his shoulder. My Mercedes squealed into the alley, and Tank ripped the back door open, shoving me inside, all six and a half feet of him crowding in behind me. A pale Cal slumped into the passenger's seat and Lula hit the gas, whipping backward out of the alley while more bullets bounced off my car. She tore away into the street.

"Holy moly. I got palpitations," Lula said. "I swear, your life just flashed before my eyes."

"You mean your life?"

"No, pretty sure it was yours. It was too boring to be mine."

"Where did you guys come from?" I asked Tank, who was hastily trying to buckled my seatbelt while cutting shifty looks at Lula's driving.

"Control routed us your way when they heard you found Sunny."

"Wait. How did they hear I found Sunny? I didn't call it in."

"Ranger's having the audio from your vehicle monitored."

"Since when?"

"Since he had to have Hank detail the bullet marks out of your rear driver's side door last night."

"I can explain that. That was just Moe making a point."

"The point being that he would shoot you?"  
I opened my mouth to deny it and couldn't. Dammit. Not only was I battered and bruised from my altercation with a skip I failed to hold onto, but I'd likely walked my way right into lockdown mode again. Cripes, this was getting old. In fact, I wasn't sure any part of this job was worth it at the moment. My back ached, I was crabby, and I was pretty sure I'd sprained something when I grabbed onto Sunny. I hadn't felt it right away with all the adrenaline, but now that I was safe I was definitely feeling some sharp pains in my finger. "I need a new job."

"That's a thought I can second," Tank said. "But first you're going to the hospital before Ranger kills me."


	36. Chapter 36

AU of Takedown 20, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Thirty-Six

Cal had taken Lula back to the office in the fleet vehicle once he'd stopped twitching. I wasn't nearly as lucky. Tank had insisted on driving me to St. Francis to have me looked at. After he'd called Ranger and ratted me out personally. He stood over me in the waiting room, a tower of scowl dressed in black. Considering I was a slightly battered pregnant lady, that was attracting some attention.

Ranger showed up ten minutes after we did, facing me with hands on hips. "Talk."

"Jeez. I know you're new to this whole girlfriend thing, but that's not how you speak to—"

"Steph, you went alone into a social club frequented by retired mob in broad daylight without calling in for backup. After you were expressly threatened with a bullet. That was not a smart move."

"Oh, so now I'm not smart?"

"Smart people do stupid things all the time. Because they don't think through the consequences."

"What about you being sneaky with the audio in my car? What consequences did you see that having?"

"I saw my pregnant girlfriend staying alive."

"Even if she was mad?"

"Yes." Our eyes held for a long moment. His dark and impenetrable. Mine trying very hard not to back down. He pulled in a deep breath and actually sighed. "Stephanie, I've done very little to try and slow you down the last couple months. I know you hate staying still, and I'm self aware enough to admit I get some personal satisfaction watching you in action. But you _are_ four months pregnant. There's a lot more at stake these days than your professional pride."

"You want me to go on maternity leave."

"I want you to delegate. I know this is who you are, Babe, and I love who you are. I'd never ask you to change. But you're risking for two now. It might be time to consider stepping back from captain to navigator. Watch somebody else do the takedowns for a while."

"Not every skip requires the big guns. Most of them aren't even worth pizza money. Are you telling me it makes financial sense for me to call someone in for an indecent exposure or a minor possession?"

"I'm not worried about what makes financial sense right now."

"What kind of BEA am I if I can't apprehend an indecent exposure?"

"Babe, if you really need to wrestle someone into cuffs that badly I told you I'm game."

"Now you're talking dirty in front of Tank!"

"Tank's heard worse. Now, are you willing to be a backseat driver or do I have to be the bad guy?"

I was saved from immediate answer when my name was called. Ranger went back with me. Pretty easy to claim the family connection when I'm in a family way and my name is on his insurance. Most of the damage was minor bruising, but I had jammed my finger grabbing Sunny. Required a splint. That was going to make it a lot harder to put my pants on in the morning. It was also going to be nearly impossible to fire a gun. Sigh. Maybe backseat driving wasn't the worst idea after all.

We went home for lunch, but I was in too sour a mood for anything fun to happen, so when it came time for Ranger to go back to work, he agreed not to stop me from going back too as long as I took Tank. Since there was obviously no way around this without sneaking out of the Fort Knox building and ditching my trackers, I thought the grown up thing to do was to roll my eyes with a heavy sigh and hold the elevator.

Tank insisted on driving, but consented to stop by the bond office to pick up Lula. We were going after Ziggy Radiewski. He owned a little row house in the shantytown on Post Street, but the place he lived was Ginty's Bar. Lula and I had apprehended Ziggy a bunch of times. Usually it was really easy. Ziggy wasn't trouble. He was just so pickled from his constant liver abuse that he often didn't know what day it was, and frequently forgot his court date. On a good day, this just meant giving him a ride to the police station to reschedule. Bad days meant he had trouble walking and remembering his name.

We parked in the small lot between the bar and the hardware store and Lula and I hopped out and went right in. Took a second for our eyes to adjust to the din. Wasn't hard to find Ziggy. He was one of only three men at the bar. He was fifty-six, but looked seventy because of the self abuse. He recognized us the second the bartender pointed us out. Swiveled his stool our way. "Ladies, long time no see."

"Are you ready to go for a ride?"

Ziggy hiccupped. "Barkeep. One for the road."

The bartender set a fresh beer in front of Ziggy. Ziggy chugged it. I heard the front door open and close and felt Tank's massive presence behind us. Ziggy set his glass on the bar, turned to look at us, and fell off his barstool.

"You have this strange effect on men," Lula said to me. "They're always passin' out on you. Guys get stuck with darts, and run into walls, and fall off barstools."

"I think this time it was Tank. I think he scared him," I said.

"That could be true," Lula said, "cause it looks like he wet hisself."

"Cripes. Just help me get him outside."

Tank pushed between us and scooped Ziggy up off the floor. Lula and I were debating how to get him to lockup without soiling my Mercedes when Tank opened the cargo area and pulled out a roll of plastic sheeting from a hidden compartment under the floor. I stared at him. "That was in there this whole time?"

"Yeah."

"What the heck was it for?"

Pause. "Keeping the car clean."

"You know what, never mind. I don't want to know. Just wrap him like a burrito so we can buckle him and go."

ooo

I'd had to promise the cop at the processing desk that the guy wrapped up in the plastic sheeting was in fact drunk and not recently deceased. Took some convincing given the smell. He still wasn't entirely sure until Ziggy started snoring. The cop gave me my body receipt and I took it back to the office.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. Text from Ranger.

 _Business meeting tonight. Catch up with you after Bingo._

Which meant I was eating alone again.

My finger was really starting to hurt, and Tank wasn't exactly fun-sized, so I cut my losses early and went home to Rangeman. Thankfully, Ranger had deemed Bingo a safe activity that didn't require Rangeman attendance. Well. It was that or none of his men had been willing to go. Either way, I was free and on my own when I picked up Lula and Grandma and headed to the Seniors Center.

The crowd at the Senior Center was exactly what I had expected. Same group in their sixties and seventies that went on every outing, every trip to Atlantic City, attended classes and demonstrations, and played cards in the afternoon. They took their Bingo pretty seriously, though. I'd gone the cautious route with four cards, Grandma had twelve. Lula got thirty. This caused some upset when she had trouble keeping up, and then started name calling with one of the regulars. We got out of there before things could get out of hand.

I kind of wanted to poke around Rita's house to see if Uncle Sunny was there, but was equally freaked out by the idea of getting caught. Not because I was afraid of Sunny or Rita. Because I was sort of afraid of what Ranger would do if I didn't call backup this time. Ranger wasn't the screaming and yelling kind of boyfriend. When he got upset, Ranger got very quiet. All you saw was the darkness in his eyes, or a curl of smoke off his scalp. That moment in the hospital waiting room might have looked like a casual disagreement to the average observer, but it had been our first public fight. I wasn't eager to face him at home if I turned around and did the same thing again just hours later.

I decided it was safe enough to do a quick drive-by. No sense calling in for backup if I wasn't leaving the bulletproof car. Lights were on in the front room. No car in the driveway. No thugs hanging out on the front porch. I made a U-turn and parked across the street. Now I was in a pickle. I really wanted to peek in some windows to see if he was in there, but somehow I thought that might violate the terms of agreement. I bit the bullet and called control.

"Tank's enroute already," Ram told me.

"How did you—"

"Ranger gave specific orders that if you were seen heading to the Hamilton Township address or 15th Street, we were supposed to send Tank."

He didn't sound apologetic in the slightest. But then, Ranger's guys were way more afraid of him than they were of me. Good thing I'd called it in. I held in a sigh. "How long till he gets here?"

"ETA five minutes."

I thanked him and hung up. "Tank will be here in five minutes."

"Boy, this is exciting," Grandma said. "Way better than Bingo. We're gonna bust in there like that TV bounty hunter."

"That's not likely. I'm sort of hoping to get Sunny without any busting in. Rita did threaten to shoot me."

"Shouldn't we get the lay of the land so Tank'll know which door to stomp in? I bet we could see all kinds of stuff through them windows."

"Oh you can," Lula told her. "I went peepin' last time and I seen her livin' room and her kitchen, and even her bedroom. It's real pretty. I bet she got a professional decorator."

"This I gotta see."

"I promised Ranger that I would wait for Tank," I said. "He wouldn't be happy if I got out of the car without a really really good reason."

"All we wanna do is look in some windows. What's the worst that can happen?" Lula said.

I wasn't sure if that was supposed to be rhetorical.

While I was thinking about it, Grandma and Lula got out of the car.

Crap.

ooo

Tank

He shouldn't a been surprised when he parked behind Steph's Mercedes and found her AWOL, and yet that didn't stop the goddamn surprise. Shit. He'd been sure, the way Ranger had laid it out earlier, that she'd a at least _tried_ to do what he'd asked. Steph was headstrong and stubborn, but she usually seemed to respond on the rare occasion when Ranger made an emotional appeal. The fact she'd made the call was supposed to be a good sign. Even if she had made it at the last possible second.

Tank angled out of the Escalade and pulled his weapon, keeping it tight to his body. The night was silent. Slight rustle of leaves on the wind. Dog barking half a block away. Then he heard the shouting. There were squeals at the back of the house, and then he saw Lula and Steph's granny hauling ass to the car. Lula wiggling around on those five inch spike heels, her tiny skirt sliding up to show every last inch of ass. He tore his eyes away and searched the shadows for Steph. She showed up in the light the second the front door banged open. The skinny geezer came out waving a gun.

Steph had two conflicting thoughts at once. Fight or flight. He saw it when fight won. She put her head down and ran the last few feet, knocking him back so he couldn't shoot her. They both went down. Rangy old yellow dog verses rabid badger. Tank sprinted for them, but before he could get there, a man-eater in red heels showed in the door with a doublebarrel. "Let him go or I'll shoot!" she said, racking the gun. Steph was instant hands off, rolling to her feet to rabbit away, but Sunny dove for her as Rita fired and he got an assfull of buckshot for his trouble.

"You fucking idiot," he yelled at Rita. "You shot me!"

"You got in the way," Rita said. "Stay down."

She was taking aim at Steph's back until two of Tank's bullets clipped the doorframe. She shrieked and dove inside. Tank caught Steph midstride and she flipped out, catching him with a well placed elbow in the gut before she realized who it was. He swept her all the way over to the Mercedes and deposited her in the front seat. "Stay."

"Where are you going?"

"To get your skip so we don't have to fuckin do this anymore."

She looked relieved. Good. Maybe that meant she'd stay put this time. Tank turned back toward the house, searching the side yard for signs of Sunny. He wasn't on the lawn anymore. Musta limped his ass inside. Couldn't see Rita either. Tank called control. Stuck to the shadows. He was halfway through getting backup when the garage door opened and a cheap looking black Mercedes whipped out onto the street and screeched away. Steph's skip behind the wheel. The car squealed around the corner and disappeared.

There goes that.

Tank sauntered back to Steph. Holstered his weapon. He could see the squirming. Solid evidence she knew she'd fucked up. "Keys," he said to her.

She looked like she wanted to argue, but after a second she surrendered the keys. He opened the back door for her and she slumped out of the driver's seat. "What about your car?"

"Control is sending someone to get it. I'm not letting you out of my sight until we get back to Rangeman."

ooo

Steph

I was on the couch watching television when Ranger came home. I didn't hear his shoes on the floor, but I could feel the change in air pressure. The magnetic gravity that my body instantly responded to whenever he was near. He walked into the den with that effortless athleticism and took a relaxed seat on the coffee table in front of me. Flicked the TV off via remote. I let him draw my eye. I was folded up on his sofa, wearing a plain white t-shirt and striped pajama bottoms with a drawstring waist that didn't want to go higher than lowslung, leaving a few inches of bare, swollen belly between pants and shirt. Ranger's eyes traced it. Flicked back up to mine. Hard to tell what he might be thinking.

"I did call for Tank," I preempted when the silence started to burn me. "The only reason I didn't call sooner was because I didn't know if it was going to be worth getting out of the car. I was just going to stake it out a while, but then Grandma and Lula got excited and they went to peek in some windows, and I knew that was like letting Ethel Merman team up with Rose from the Golden Girls so I chased after them. Found them with their faces pressed to the kitchen window watching Rita make Sunny a grilled cheese sandwich. I tried to get them back in the car, but they were spotted, and then there was running, and shooting. I might have tackled Sunny, but to be honest some of it is kind of a blur. I was just trying to keep him from shooting me in the back while I ran away."

Ranger was all silence. Still staring.

"I'm not hurt this time," I offered. "At least I don't think any of the bruises are new." More silence. Oh boy. My nerves were squirming so much I could feel it in my body. A little flutter right below my belly button. "How mad are you?"  
"I'm still deciding. For now why don't you start with how it went tonight."

"We sort of got kicked out of Bingo."

The blank expression eased enough for a hint of smile. "Babe."

"Lula got into a fight with Mildred Frick. You don't want to know the details, but the highlights were Mildred called Lula a dumb bunny and Grandma a slut. Although I think Grandma liked being called a slut."

"Did you learn anything helpful?"

"I can honestly say I didn't see anyone there that I could suspect of murdering little old ladies. Okay, maybe Mildred Frick, but she would be a long shot."

"Anybody talk about the murders?"

"Not that I heard. Bingo is serious stuff at the Senior Center. You get your cards set up, you hunker down and concentrate. There's not a lot of chitchat."

"Men?"

"I counted seven. None of them looked robust enough to heave a body into a Dumpster."

"Did any of them look robust enough to persuade a woman to empty her bank account?"

"Hard to say. You can't always tell with old people. You think they have one foot in the grave, and next thing they're ramming you with a shopping cart at Costco."

The smile twitched again.

"So. The mad thing?"

"I'm not mad, Babe. I'm worried."

"I didn't think you worried about anything."

"I worry about _everything_. It doesn't help that you're Calamity Jane. I put safety measures in place for a reason. So that you can do your thing _and_ not die."

"I tried to follow the rules, I swear!"

"You can follow the rules on other things, but from here out Tank is the one after Sunny."

"You can't do that."

"Babe."

He said it soft. Tender enough to encourage the squirming flutter. It didn't feel like nerves exactly. Or guilt. It was more like a ripple or a gas bubble. Nudging at my insides. A thought occurred to me and my mouth fell open. "Holy cats, I think I just felt the baby move."

"Where?"

I rubbed the spot two inches under my belly button. Ranger shifted from the coffee table to the seat next to me. Put his hand on my belly. I guided it to the spot and pressed it tight. Waiting. I felt the flutter again. "There. Do you feel it?"

"No."

"There it is again!" I adjusted his hand, chasing the flutter. "You have to have felt that one."

Ranger smiled and scooped me up, bringing me across his lap to face him. Smoothed my curls back to kiss me slow and tender. "It'll probably take a couple more weeks before it can be felt from the outside. For now, I think this is just between the two of you."

I rubbed the belly between us, trying not to be overwhelmed. This was so much more than the abstract understanding that I was growing a person. This was real. A sign I wasn't alone in my own body. Part of me wished I could share it with Ranger, but there was something special about it being just us, at least for a little while. Ranger's eyes warmed when he saw that. "I think he likes your voice," I told him. "He moves more when you talk."

"If she's anything like her mother, it might just be a show of defiance."

"Ugh, fine. Tank can have Sunny. But he owes me."

"I'll be happy to pay his tab," he said, kissing my lips.


	37. Chapter 37

AU of Takedown 20, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Thirty-Seven

I was all wrapped up in warm, hard Ranger when I woke the next morning. One of his hands on my belly, the other curled around my breast. Normally I would have also been naked, but things hadn't worked out quite that well last night. We'd tried. A few times in fact. But every time I should have gotten somewhere, I just didn't. Which had tested Ranger's incredible control, because he had refused to leave me behind. His lips brushed the back of my neck. "We could try again."

"I don't know if that's a good idea."

"Not interested?"

"It's not that. I'm always interested, and I mean _always_. It's the rest of me that's not cooperating. I think it's because of the eye."

"The eye?"

"Don't laugh at me, this is serious! Bella put the whammy on me, and it was a big one."

"Did she say what it was supposed to do?"

"She wanted me to stop hunting Sunny."

"And that affects our sex life because…"

"She was also mad about Morelli and the baby. She said no more slutting."

"You're exclusive with the father of your child. That's nowhere near the realm of 'slutting'."

"But exclusive isn't committed, and Morelli was sort of my boyfriend when I conceived. What does that make me if not a slut?"

"Babe, if you were a slut I'd have been in and out of your bed since the day we met."

"That's not helping with my... wait, really?"

"Oh yeah. Smoking hot and full of defiant fire? I was definitely turned on. But you're not the slutting type, so I kept it to myself."

"It didn't stay to yourself."

His hand slid down from my belly and under my waistband again, caressing me. "Some temptations are harder to resist than others."

Oh god, that felt good. His mouth on my neck, his hands in my clothes. He kissed my shoulder while he inched my underwear down. Giving me plenty of time to melt into a puddle. He licked my earlobe. "You wanna try again?"

"Yes."

He smiled before he grazed my ear with his teeth and wrapped my leg around his waist to fill me from behind. The sensations woke up every nerve with delicious pleasure. He moved like he was reading my body. Instinctively searching for my sweet spot. He knew when he found it and I leaned in, trying to get a hold of it the way he had a hold of me. Until my leg started cramping. I bit my lip, desperate to ignore it.

Ranger paused. Again. "Babe?"

"It's just a leg cramp. I'm fine, I swear."

"You're not fine."

"Just go. It's okay. There's no sense in both of us being frustrated."

Ranger let out a breath and pulled away, rolling me onto my back so he could see my eyes. "Steph, I don't make love to you just for an orgasm. The orgasms are great," he said when I frowned, "but if we're not sharing the experience I'm as good as taking advantage."

"But what if it's like this until the baby comes?"

"Then we'll find a work around," he said. He kissed me, and then moved down. Kissing every inch. It took only a tug to get my underwear off that time. Tossed over his shoulder to the floor. His kisses turned intimate right when my phone rang. "Don't answer it."

"What if it's important?"

"Can you hold a conversation while I'm doing this? Because I'm not stopping."

I bit my lip, but the stupid phone wouldn't stop ringing. I cursed and answered it. Saw a hint of wicked in Ranger's smile. "Hello?"

"Notice how calm I am?" Morelli said. "I'm not yelling, right?"

Oh boy. I couldn't be sure, but at the sound of Morelli's voice I might have swore Ranger's attention doubled. "Right," I agreed, trying not to go cross eyed.

"You should know it's costing me. I can feel myself getting a double hernia from keeping it in."

"You know, this isn't a great time."

"No shit. Only that didn't stop the news from spreading just short of CNN. What the hell happened last night?"

"What are we talking about?"

"Sunny. I heard that you caught him taking the garbage out for Rita and you filled him full of buckshot."

"Actually, Rita was the one who shot Sunny. She was trying to shoot me, but got him by mistake."

"That doesn't make me feel better."

"How is he?"

"He'll live. My mother said he got a few pellets in his leg and his ass."

"Your mother said 'ass'?"

"She said 'buttock,' but I feel stupid saying 'buttock.' My crazy grandmother is on the warpath. She's saying you're going to hell. Like she might send you there sooner rather than later. That doesn't work for me to have you dead and my grandmother behind bars."

"Do you really think she'd shoot me?"

"No. She's sicillian, she'd poison you. Get you with a meatball. Just a heads up."

"Thanks." I said goodbye and hung up. "Morelli's grandmother is going to poison me."

"Probably best to steer clear of meatballs for a while."

"This isn't funny!"

Ranger did something insanely clever with his tongue and I forgot what I was mad about. I was too busy grabbing fistfuls of sheet. "Don't worry, Babe. This'll all be over soon enough."

"Are we still talking about Sunny?"

That time I was sure of Ranger's wicked grin. At least in that way, the over was indeed soon, and definitely enough.

ooo

The mood in the office was tense when I walked in.

"I'm not chasin' Sunny with you anymore," Lula said. "Everytime I go somewhere with you people shoot at us."

"Not every time. And it wasn't my idea to get out of the car."

"That's true. That was your granny. I love your granny, but she's a loose cannon."

Like Lula was one to talk.

Vinnie stuck his head out of his office. "Way to go, cuz. I hear there's a contract out on you for shooting up Uncle Sunny."

"I didn't shoot Sunny. Rita shot Sunny."

"I don't give a rat's ass _who_ shot Sunny," Vinnie said. "Bottom line is he's still out there, and I'm in the red for a _lot_ of money. And you know what happens when I'm in the red? Harry gets nervous, and when Harry gets nervous he relieves the tension by smashing things… like finger and knees and private parts I'm fond of. So get out there and make a freaking capture. The guy's full of buckshot for christsake, it's not like he's moving fast."

"Sunny's not my problem anymore. I'm letting Tank have him."

"Finally! Maybe this thing'll get resolved with a real professional on it."

"Hey! I am a real professional."

"Not like Tank. Only thing better than Tank is Ranger. I mean, I thought for sure Ranger'd help you out, seeing as he knocked you up already."

"You're scum, Vinnie."

"Yeah yeah."

The front door to the bail bonds office crashed open behind me and I whipped around to see Bella pointing her bony finger at me. " _You!_ Devil woman. You shoot my nephew. Now I shoot you." She pulled out an ancient six-shooter out of her purse, aimed, and fired. The shot went wide. I rushed her before she could get off another.

"Cuffs!" I yelled, wrestling the gun from Bella. "Someone cuff her!"

Connie peeked out from behind her desk and tossed me a pair. I ratcheted them onto Bella's wrists. Lula and Connie came out of their hiding spots while Vinnie gaped from his office. I put Bella in one of the cheap lobby chairs and called Morelli.

"You know your meatball theory?" I asked him. "You were wrong. Your grandmother is here with a revolver. You need to come get her."

"Was anyone hurt?"

"No, but I think Vinnie messed his pants."

It took Morelli fifteen minutes to get across town. He looked at his handcuffed grandmother, the hole in the far wall, and the revolver on Connie's vacated desk. She and Lula were in the storage room trying to avoid getting the eye. Morelli frowned. "You're right. That's no meatball."

"She's the devil," Bella said. "She shoot your godfather, a good man. And she do this to a granny. She have no respect. Look how she treat a poor old lady."

"Where'd you get the gun?" Morelli asked her.

"An old lady got to protect herself."

Morelli blew out a sigh. "Thanks for the phone call. Are you planning to press charges?"

"No one was hurt. And she is your grandmother."

"I appreciate that. Family's family. Even if they are crazy."

He unlocked Bella's cuffs and gave them back to me, ushering her toward the door. She turned enough to flip me the bird before she left. Vinnie opened his office door a crack, Lula and Connie peeking out of the back room. "Is she gone?" Vinnie asked.

"Yeah."

Connie made the sign of the cross. "We might need to have this place blessed."

"Blessed nothin'," Lula said. "This place needs an exorcism and a box of donuts. I say we get outta here. I bought some lettuce to feed Kevin and I don't want it to wilt."

"What's your plan?" I wanted to know. "Drive around 15th until you see him and throw it out the window?"

"Why, you got something better to do?"

Sigh. "No. Let's go."

ooo

Lula and I took my Mercedes down 15th Street on our way to Freeman. Slowing a little as we passed the Chestnut Social Club. Lula thought that was the best place to dump the lettuce, since it was the last place Kevin had been seen. It was a nice day. Warm sunshine, cloudless sky. The kind of day that makes you feel like things are going to be okay. Lula had her eyes peeled as we searched the grid. There wasn't any sign of Kevin. "He's gotta be out here. Where else would he go?"

"Maybe he had a late night and he's sleeping it off somewhere."

"Where do you think a giraffe could be sleepin' out here?"

"Maybe whoever lost him finally came back for him."

"I hope not. The kinda person irresponsible enough to lose a giraffe shouldn't have no giraffe, that's all I'm sayin'. You gotta be a special kinda person to connect with a giraffe. They need love and affection."

"Please tell me you're not trying to adopt the giraffe."

"Course not. I'm just saying Kevin could do worse than someone like me. I'd love him, brush him, take care of him…"

"He's eighteen feet tall! Where would you keep him, you're walkin closet?"

"See, that would just be silly. You're clearly not a giraffe person."

My Bluetooth started ringing. Ranger's number in the display. I answered. "Yeah?"

"Babe, I thought we agreed Tank was handling Sunny."

"We did."

"Then why are you driving circles around Sunny's neighborhood?"

I opened my mouth to tell him, but hesitated. It suddenly seemed embarrassing to tell Ranger we were combing downtown Trenton looking for a giraffe. Then I remembered the Chestnut Social Club. "Are you still having control monitor my audio?"

"Not since yesterday. Why? Should that change?"

"Nope. I was just checking. Lula bought some food for her friend Kevin. We were just trying to find him so we could deliver it."

He was quiet a moment. Like he might be pinching the bridge of his nose to ward off a migraine. "Are you sure there's nothing you want to tell me?"

"I'm sure. This has nothing to do with Sunny. Just Kevin."

"I've got control monitoring your movements."

"Roger that."

Pretty sure I heard him smile. Ranger thought I was amusing.

"I'm not seeing any sign of him and I'm getting' worried," Lula said when Ranger disconnected. "I think we should park and try it on foot. Maybe we can pick up his scent."

"I don't know how to pick up a scent."

"It's real easy. You just gotta sniff at the air until you find something that smells like giraffe."

I had my doubts, but we were far enough away from 15th that I thought the chances of trouble were low, and Lula was right, I didn't have anything better to do and the exercise might do me some good. Plus there was a part of me that really wanted to see a giraffe up close. Even if just to make sure it was real. I parked next to a deli and we got out.

It was mid morning. The sun shining just warm enough to add a blush to the pleasant breeze. It was still Sunny's neighborhood, so it was lousy with wiseguys, but it was free of street gangs and petty crime. We walked a few blocks, listening for whatever sound Kevin was supposed to make while Lula breathed in the late summer air.

"This is nice," Lula said. "I bet we already worked off those donuts with all this walking. Wait. I think I mighta caught a whiff of giraffe."

"How can you tell?"

"Kevin and I are finely tuned. I can practically hear his thoughts."

"Like you could with the Tiki?"

She shushed me. Taking another sniff. "Yep, that's giraffe all right. It's comin' from up ahead. I bet he's heading for Freeman Street."

"Freeman and 15th is ground zero for Sunny Land. I don't think we should go down that block."

"Yeah, but Kevin might be going after his lettuce. He'll be real disappointed if he don't get to see who left him all that delicious food."

"He'll be even more disappointed if the food stops showing up because Sunny's goons drilled you full of bullet holes."

"Hey, _I_ didn't shoot Uncle Sunny. I was just a innocent bystander."

"So was I!"

"Yeah, but the world don't know that. Fact, even if they did they might wanna shoot at you anyway. People are always shootin' at you. I think 'cause you're a bounty hunter."

"I need a new job."

"You say that, but I don't see you makin' any changes. What do you wanna do besides bounty hunting? You got a plan? You got life skills? Course I guess you could always marry Ranger and be a stay at home mama. Get you one of them minivans."

"Jeez this conversation is depressing. I'm tired. I'm going back to the car. I'll meet you there in half an hour."

"You want my gun?"

"No! I'll be fine." I probably couldn't use it anyway with the splint on my jammed finger. "Just hurry."

"Sure thing," she said. We parted ways and I turned down Morgan, heading back to the Mercedes. It really was a beautiful day. The streets were clean and well maintained. No rats scurrying around the gutters. No burnt out crack houses. No runners loitering on front stoops or on the street corners. Some of the stoops even had potted plants. By all accounts, it was a pretty safe neighborhood, once you got past the part about the wiseguys.

I didn't see a lot of people walking the street with me. Traffic was sparse. Not unusual for a Thursday morning. I was thinking about stopping in at the deli for a sandwich when a black SUV parked behind my Mercedes. Two guys got out, guns drawn. I backed away and turned as casually as I could, trying not to be noticed. Fumbled my phone out of my pocket to call Ranger. I searched the street for a business to hide in, but it was all residential. There weren't even any apartment building doors I could run into. I pressed Ranger's speedial with a shaky thumb and lifted the phone to my ear. The ringing secondary to the black Lincoln that pulled to a stop in front of me. Moe and Shorty got out, eyes anchored to me. Moe held his gun, Shorty a stun gun. The line opened in my ear. "He—"

And then a pair of prongs touched the back of my neck and the world turned black.


	38. Chapter 38

AU of Takedown 20, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Everything around my head was still black even after my neurons unscrambled. I couldn't move, either. Trunk, I thought. I was in the back of the Lincoln. I wasn't the only thing in there either. Something rough and heavy was crowding my legs. My hands were cuffed.

The car rolled to a stop and the trunk lid opened, dumping bright daylight over me. Hands grabbed hold and yanked me out despite my kicking and screaming. All I saw was that we were on a bridge with the blackened Delaware river churning below us. And I was tied to a goddamn cinderblock. "You've got to be kidding," I said. "Mob guys don't actually do this."

"Turns out we do," Moe said. "Usually it's at night, but I got a anniversary party for my in-laws later, so…"

"People can see us!"

"Yeah, I know," he said, waving at the cars passing by. Some honked their horns and waved back. "They think we're making a movie or something."

"Why are you doing this?"

"That's one of those questions that got an obvious answer. You're a pain in the ass and you won't go away. And you shot Sunny."

"I didn't shoot Sunny, Rita shot Sunny!"

"I wouldn't find that hard to believe, but we got our orders."

The guy from the SUV gave a grunt and hefted the cinderblock up to the guardrail. "Wait! I'm pregnant!" I cried.

Moe and the other guy exchanged glances, then looked at my belly. "I thought she looked knocked up," the other guy said.

"You sure she's not just fat?"

"Well, it's hard to say for sure, but if she was just fat her ass would be bigger."

Moe shrugged. "Orders are orders. Shove her over."

"I'm not even _chasing Sunny anymore_!" I screamed, but nobody was listening. I squirmed and kicked. Got Shorty in the crotch. He released my arm and doubled over, forcing the other guy to drop the cinderblock and grab me. There was some swearing and grunting and I went over the side.

I dropped ten feet and jerked to a stop at the end of the rope. Swinging and twirling in the breeze.

"What the hell?" Moe said.

"The goddamn block is stuck," the SUV guy said.

"Are you shitting me?"

"No. It got pulled into the guardrail when she went over and got stuck."

"Do I gotta to everything myself?" Moe asked.

Somebody leaned on a horn, and then there was more swearing. Then the sound of men running. Some tires squealed away while others screeched to a halt. Car doors opening and slamming shut. It was all a blur as the blood rushed to my head. The brackish churning of the Delaware pulling at me. The rope around one foot was the only thing keeping me in the sky, and it was strangling my ankle.

I looked up and saw the bridge beneath my feet. Ranger was straddling the guardrail. "Try to stay still. I'm going to pull you up, but you have to stop twirling. You're loosening the knot."

"I'm trying, but it won't stop!"

The knot slipped and I was touching nothing but wind. I caught a glimpse of Ranger flying off the bridge after me. Rush and panic as the black water raced to greet me. I curled up to protect my belly and the water swallowed me. The currents dragging at me until I didn't know which way was up. I fought toward the light and broke the surface, gasping for air until the river sucked me down again. I felt an arm wrap around me, a solid body at my back and I broke the surface again. "Relax! I've got you," he shouted. "I'm going to float with the current and tow you in."

I wanted to tell him I could swim, but my jaw was chattering too fast to get the words out. We drifted a while, his body cradling mine, until we reached the bank where four Rangeman guys were wading waist deep to scoop us out. An EMS truck waited behind them with lights flashing. I was pulled out of the water and wrapped in a blanket. Someone removed the cuffs. Ranger held me tight against him, cheek pressed to mine.

"You're okay," he said. "You're safe."

I wasn't sure which of us he was trying to convince.

He looked me over. "Do you hurt anywhere?"

I shook my head. "N-n-n-no."

"I could have EMS drive you to the hospital."

"N-n-n-not n-n-n-needed."

"I need to take care of a few things here," he said. "I'm going to have Tank take you home. I'll be there as soon as I can. I'm also going to call the doctor and see if we can bump up your appointment this afternoon. I'll feel better once he's checked on the baby. You can talk to the police after that."

"I-it was M-M-Moe and Sh-Shorty," I said. "Damn, I c-can't stop sh-shaking."

"It's the adrenaline. It's normal."

"Wh-why aren't y-you sh-shaking?"

"I'm not normal."

ooo

Tank

Not a lot scared a man like Ranger. The only exception seemed to be Stephanie Plum. Tank had seen it before. The extra shadow in his eyes. The way he receded to machine mode to get the job done. Which this time meant seeing Sunny's rats caught and jailed with his own two eyes. Only reason he was willing to let Steph out of his sight for that was that knew his closest and most trusted friend would die before he let anything happen to her.

Tank made sure she was buckled and turned toward Rangeman. Trying to keep his own fears and fury from showing. There would be a time and place to process it. This wasn't it. "Your phone is in the center console," he told her. "We found it in the trunk of the Lincoln."

"Is that how you found me?" she asked, weak and exhausted.

"There's a GPS unit on your car keys."

"Of course there is," she said, laying her head back. "Did you capture Moe and Shorty?"

"They took off in the SUV, and Hal and Gino and five police cars went after them."

She picked up her phone. Saw the missed calls from Lula. She called her back. "Where the heck are you?" Lula asked. "I've been standing here by the car waitin'."

"I sort of got kidnapped and thrown in the river, but I'm okay now. Tank is driving me home. Ranger said he was sending some guys to get my car and take you back to the office."

"Hold up, rewind that back. Did you say you got tossed in the river?"

"It wasn't a big deal. I'll tell you about it later. Did you find Kevin?"

"No, but there was some homeless guy eating Kevin's lettuce. I gave him five bucks for a bottle of wine and he left. You sure you're okay? You sound tired."

"I just need a nap. I'll catch up with you later."

Steph said goodbye and disconnected. Dropped her head against the headrest, eyes closed. Tank looked over at her. "Seemed to me that it was a big deal."

"I'm trying to forget."

"Don't forget too much or it might happen again." A thought not one of them wanted to contemplate. Steph was insanely lucky most of the time. Probably coulda sprinted through an active minefield and manage to be the only one not to blow up. But there was a limit to luck. Every time she pressed it, Tank got a little grayer just like Ranger, even if it didn't show yet on the outside.

Stephanie Plum was more than his best friend's girl or the mother of his future godchild. She was his friend. Tank mighta had a few more friends than Ranger, but not many. Steph was spunky and spirited, funny as hell. Tender to a fault. He could tell when he intimidated her, but he also knew she liked him anyway. She was good. Not just to Tank and the guys, but for Ranger. Grounded him. Made him better.

He didn't want to wonder what would happen if Ranger ever lost her.

There was a better than good chance he would completely lose his shit.

They drove in silence the whole way home, Steph so quiet he thought she might have fallen asleep. But when he parked and went around to open her door, she'd already pushed it open. Slumped out. Plodding to the elevator with him behind her.

He rode up to seven with her and opened the door. Let her drift in on autopilot. "Would you like me to stay?" he asked. Hoping to god she'd say yes. She looked done in and half dead, and he was afraid the moment he let her be she'd dissolve into a puddle and go into shock.

She shook her head. "Not necessary. But thank you. I'm fine."

The hell she was. But he wasn't exactly in a position to argue. "If you need anything just call."

The smile was tired, but she seemed to mean it. Even if it was just on the surface. He let her shut the door and waited. Not feeling right about leaving her.

It was less than a minute before he heard the quiet sobs through the door.

ooo

Ranger

Moe and Shorty were lucky that Hal and Gino were the ones to corner them. Ranger wasn't sure they've have fared as well if it had been him. He watched them loaded into the back of the police cars. Heading to lock up. He planned to stay on them until they were booked. Didn't want to take the chance they'd be on the street again before he had a chance to come to terms with his impulses.

Ranger got a call from Morelli the second he'd put his sim card in a dry phone. "I've been ringing nonstop the last ten minutes with people saying Stephanie was just thrown off a fucking bridge. Please tell me that's an exaggeration."

"Wish I could."

"Fuckin' hell. I tried to call her but she's not answering. Is she okay?"

"She's alive. Only time will tell if she's okay. I already had Tank drive her home to Rangeman."

"You know this is one of those times when I fucking hate that she chose you, if only because I can't get in your damn building to see her with my own eyes. Christ. They're saying you jumped in after her."

"That would be accurate."

"Jesus." Morelli was quiet a moment. Trying to keep hold of his emotions. Ranger knew the feeling. He was holding his pretty damn deep. Morelli pulled in a breath and let it out. "Thank you. For saving her. I know you love her and your kid and you jumping in didn't have anything to do with me, but I'm grateful all the same."

"I get that."

"I know you do."

It was a simple acknowledgment. But a profound one none the less. Ranger and Morelli had an odd association. Used to be it was more one sided. Ranger was into Morelli's girl. Stealing kisses and trying for more while he ignored the revolving door that was their relationship. Now the shoe was on the other foot. Morelli was as in love with Stephanie Plum and Ranger was. The difference being that Morelli was a good guy. As far as Ranger had gathered, Morelli had only kissed her once, at the police station in open public. A brief peck like he'd forgotten that things had changed. Morelli had way more respect for Ranger and Steph's relationship than Ranger had ever showed him. That had to count for something. "I'm heading back soon, and then I'm taking Stephanie to her OB. I'll have her call you when we know something."

"I appreciate that."

Ranger acknowledged and hung up. Put the car in gear. He followed to the station to watch the assholes booked on attempted murder charges. Then he went home and fobbed his way up to his penthouse apartment.

He could hear the shower running when he came inside and locked the door. Shed his keys, his gun, his cell. Left everything but his fears on the silver tray. He was just outside the bathroom door when he heard it. Crying. And he couldn't keep the walls up anymore. He pushed the door open. Saw her leaning into the shower wall with head hung, long black ringlets covering her face. Fog still clung to the mirrors, but there wasn't any steam around her. The water had turned cold.

Ranger pulled the shower door open and moved into the cascade behind her, gathering her into his chest to hold her up when she finally gave up trying to be strong. She sagged into him and sobbed. Clinging to his arms as the cool water soaked into his clothes like it had in the river.

It took him a long time to let her calm down. He shut off the water. Wrapped her in a towel. Guided her to their bed and set her on the edge, folding her up in the warm comforter. He knelt in front of her so he could see her eyes. "Babe."

"I know, but I just had to cry it out a little. I'm fine, I swear."

"I'm not. I'm having a hard time erasing the vision of you falling from that bridge. Every time I close my eyes it's like it's still happening."

She caressed his cheek like he was the one who needed the damn comfort. "You jumped in and saved us."

Like there had been another choice. Another thought before he was flying. "Steph, I'm terrified that one of these days I'm going to be a minute too late and even jumping off a bridge won't be enough."

"I didn't think you were afraid of anything."

"Babe." He scooped his arms around her waist and pulled her to the edge of the bed, nesting her legs around his chest. "I've been in war zones around the world. I've been shot at, and stabbed, and nearly blown to mist more times than I can count, and the only thing that scares me is you."

"Me?"

"Yes. Being in love with you is like letting my heart run loose outside my body, chasing criminals and killers without any protection. And now there are two of you. The idea that something could happen to either of you…"

"It won't."

"You don't know that."

She opened her mouth the say something, but shut it again. She didn't know what to say. Ranger rested his forehead on the swell of her belly. Her fingers threading through his hair. "You're all wet," she said.

The chuckle was dry and heavy, but genuine. He looked up into her eyes expecting the sweet, buoyant smile and the resilient light. But her face was serious. Steph didn't do serious. She did brave, sad, heartbroken, but not serious. "Babe," he breathed. More question than sentiment.

She traced his temple. "Me too," she said, like she was afraid to lose her nerve.

"You too…"

"The love thing."

The fact she was too nervous to say it didn't change the impact. He'd kind of hoped the last several weeks, but he'd never been delusional enough to let himself believe it. He stood and pulled her up, wrapping tight around her. Held her until he was able to force himself to let go. He brushed a soft kiss to her cheek. Her lips. "We need to get you dressed. The doctor promised to see us as soon as I brought you in." She nodded. He kissed her one last time and followed her to the closet.


	39. Chapter 39

AU of Takedown 20, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Steph

They put us right into a room and had me don the linen hospital gown the moment we got to the obstetrician's office. I was a little freaked out sitting there on the crinkly paper, but it felt like the baby hadn't stopped squirming once since they pulled me out of the river so I was hoping that was a good sign. Only had to wait a few minutes to see the doctor.

"Did I get your message right that Ms. Plum was thrown in the Delaware?" Dr. Weston said. Ranger nodded. "I'm almost afraid to ask the circumstances."

Oh boy. How to explain this without sounding like both a failure and a complete moron. "He was sixty-two and he had a bad heart. I didn't expect it to get this dangerous."

"Who?"

"Her skip," Ranger answered. "He's also mid-level Italian mob."

"Retired mid-level Italian mob."

"Semi retired."

"He's also my ex-boyfriend's godfather. You'd think that would count for something. I'd already stepped back and passed him off to Tank, but none of his people knew that yet so they sort of called me a pain in the ass and threw me off the Trenton Makes Bridge."

"You were thrown off a bridge?"

"She also wrestled with said mob boss more than once," Ranger said, "against my express concerns."

Jeez, that sounded bad after the whole bridge thing. I tried a shrug. "He's sixty-two, and he has a bad heart."

"And a gaggle of ruthless lackeys willing to throw a pregnant lady off a bridge."

"Okay, there's that."

The doctor was lost again. I could tell. "Anything else I should know?"

"They did stun gun me when they tossed me in the trunk."

"Are you feeling any abdominal pains or contractions?"

I shook my head. He jumped right into the physical exam. Looking over my bruises and checking my downstairs. Hooked me up to all kinds of monitors and checked my blood pressure. Didn't say a word until he'd had several minutes with the ultrasound. I watched the screen, and this time I recognized a lot of the shapes and shadows. Body. Hands. Cute little face. It didn't look like an alien anymore. It looked like a baby. And he was moving as much on the screen as he was inside me.

"Baby's definitely active," the doctor said.

"He's been doing that since it happened. I wondered if it might be the adrenaline."

Ranger almost smiled. "Like maybe she liked it?"

"That wouldn't be normal," said Dr. Weston.

"Ranger's not normal," I told him.

That got me looks from both the doctor and Ranger. They were thinking I wasn't a great candidate for normal either.

The doctor put the ultrasound wand away. "This baby is either very lucky or practically indestructible. Possibly both, if parentage is any indication. I don't see anything abnormal or alarming. But I'm going to officially mandate light duty. And I recommend immediate cessation of any circumstance that might get you thrown off a bridge."

"That almost never happens."

"Still. This isn't like a professional dancer marking routines two weeks before delivery. Until now most of the baby's growth was tucked deep inside your body, but from here on out most of the growth will be on the outside and much more vulnerable. If your job is really as dangerous as it sounds, you may need to go on full maternity leave sooner rather than later."

I got visions of wandering aimless circles around Ranger's apartment or shoveling gravy covered everything in my face at my mother's house and I got a flash of blind panic. "What if I promise to slow down?"

"Steph doesn't do well with slowing down," Ranger said. "She hates standing still."

"She'll hate it even more if I put her on bed rest."

"Nope," I said. "That won't be necessary. I'll slow down, I promise."

"For specific reference," Ranger said to the doctor, his eyes still on me, "what exactly does light duty entail?"

ooo

It was a few hours before we finally left the doctor's office, Ranger's hand in mine. He opened my door for me when we reached the Porsche. "Am I still going to Bingo tonight?" I asked him.

"I'm not sure I've got anyone who would willingly accept an assignment to go to Bingo, even if I thought it was too dangerous for you. Though I will be posting someone outside incase of trouble."

I blew out a sigh. That was fair. "What about my other skips? Lula and I were going to pick up Mary Treetrunk tomorrow. She's never trouble, unless you count the smell." Ranger shot me a curious glance. "She takes a lot of pride in her all natural marijuana growing methods. Uses dead fish instead of chemical fertilizer. And she smells like it."

Ranger smiled. "If she's never been violent I don't see why you can't pick her up on your own. I want to see the files on anything new that comes in, though."

"Okay."

"There's more. I got a text while you were doing your glucose test. Moe and Shorty were released on bail."

"They tried to kill me! How could they get released?"

"Sympathetic judge. Which is why you'll understand that I'm going to have an extra car on you until Sunny is found and his minions have been neutralized."

"This is a nightmare. Why did I ever take this job in the first place?"

"Because under the proper Burg upbringing and goofball antics, you're a reckless daredevil who craves adventure."

"Does that explain why I'm going to Bingo tonight?"

Nothing could have stopped the full on Ranger grin. "Live dangerously, Babe."

ooo

Ranger

He took her to dinner before driving her back to Rangeman so that she could pick up her Mercedes, Hal, and Gino. He reminded her before they parted ways that Morelli was hoping for an update. Then he went upstairs and brushed his eyes over Tank in the control room, indicating he wanted a word. Tank came into his office and shut the door. "How's the Sunny hunt going?"

"Did you know he was related to half the people in Trenton?"

"Steph said something to that effect."

"I've tried the obvious places. A few not so obvious. Tried tracking his financials. His network is too big. Steph found this guy twice in one day and I can't even find bread crumbs."

"Steph has a distinct advantage. She grew up in his community. Knows all the gossip mills by name. And she's just pain in the ass enough to push all the right buttons."

Tank didn't like the reminder of what that got her any better than he did. "What did the doctor say?" he asked.

"That both her and the baby being unharmed was just short of miracle. She's not officially benched, but she's under warning. She's still cleared to do footwork. Apprehensions any harder than an agreeable pickup are completely off the table, though."

"Do you want me to get a list of her Burg contacts so she can keep clear?"

Ranger considered that. It was tempting to bubble wrap her and put her on a shelf, but it wasn't practical. She was an asset. Tank would never get half as good on the intel as she could, and with Moe and Shorty out on bail there was considerable pressure to get this handle with expedience. He didn't want to take the chance they could get hands on her again, because there was no way in hell he wouldn't put them down if they did and he couldn't afford to add more red to his ledger.

"I'll talk to her," Ranger told him. "At the very least we can put it out there that she's stepping back. Can't guarantee it'll get her out of the crosshairs, but it's worth a shot."

ooo

Steph

The crowd at the firehouse was a lot different from the crowd at the Senior Center. A percentage were Bingo junkies that frequented both, but a good 80% were people from the Burg. Women Grandma's age, my mother's age, even some I'd gone to school with. And there was drinking, which added a jovial spirit to the proceedings. This looked to be a lot less painful than last night. We got a couple seats at the back where we could see the whole room. "Your hair is different," I said to Grandma.

"Yeah. I went blonde. The gray made me look too old."

I didn't want to say it, but it hadn't just been Grandma's gray hair that had made her look old. At heart she was a rowdy teenager, but the rest of her was shaped like a soup chicken with too much skin.

"I went to the beauty salon today and got spruced up," Grandma said. "Ever since Mildred Frick called me a slut my phone hasn't stopped ringing. I got two dates for the weekend."

"It might not be such a good thing to have men calling you because they think you're a slut," I said. "They're only going to be after one thing."

"I hope that's true. I don't want to find out I went blonde and bought them thongs for nothing. I don't think I can hold out for a hottie who'll jump off a bridge for me like you got, but I'm thinking I can at least get somebody who can get me to my good underwear without croakin'."

"Cripes. You heard about that?"

"Everybody heard about that. Your mother ironed the same sheet for three hours this afternoon mumbling about how your sister never woulda been thrown off a bridge pregnant and not call, or have a baby with a man who would let her chase criminals but not marry her, and how she doesn't understand why you wouldn't want to settle down and be a housewife. And then she had a couple nips of booze while she was making supper, and some red wine when we sat down to eat, and she was pretty much in a nice stupor by the time I left."

"Jeez. I guess I should have called. I didn't think about it with all that was going on."

Grandma patted my arm. "Not to worry. Ranger texted that you were okay, and that the baby was fine too. It's just your mother worries. She thinks she won't live to see you settled down and happy."

I had to admit this was a valid fear.

We each got three Bingo cards and got ourselves all set up. I was having a hard time managing with the splint on my jammed finger, though. After a few minutes Grandma took pity on me and offered to manage my cards. This was actually a good deal because it gave me more time to look around the room. I only counted three men in the crowd this time. Two were a happy elderly gay couple. Not likely either of them would be seducing old ladies. The third was Gordon Krutch. Gordon was in his seventies, with a stooped posture and a complexion like drying concrete. Grandma said he'd been a hot ticket since his wife died, because he took fitness classes at the Senior Center and still had a driver's license. I was thinking hotness was a sliding scale once you got old enough. Gordon looked like he had trouble lifting himself out of a chair. I couldn't see him lifting a body.

My phone started ringing. Morelli returning my missed call.

"I've only got a minute," he said. "Double homicide in the projects. I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"I'm okay."

"And the plus one?"

"Okay too."

"Good to hear. I'm hoping Ranger has you under 24 hour surveillance since they cut the guys loose. Fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they turn up dead tomorrow in an apparent murder suicide."

"That's not going to happen."

"Are you sure?"

To be honest, I wasn't sure. I was pretty sure that Ranger didn't kill people, at least not anymore, but I had a sneaking suspicion if he was going to break that rule it would be for the guys who tried to murder his girlfriend and unborn child. "Hal and Gino are waiting outside," I told him. "There's a good chance I'll have a shadow for the foreseeable future."

"Thank god for that."

"Bingo!" Grandma yelled. " _Stephanie got Bingo!_ "

I looked over at my card, and I looked up at the screen. Bingo.

"What did I win?" I asked Grandma.

"One of them slow cookers."

"No money?"

"No. It wasn't a money game. It was a potluck game."

"I won a slow cooker at Bingo," I told Morelli.

"You're at Bingo?"

"Yeah, and I won!"

ooo

I dropped Grandma off at my parents house when Bingo was over and took my slow cooker and my Rangeman tail home with me. It had been surprisingly fun after my win. I was beginning to see why people found it so addicting, but I wasn't sure it was going to pan out as a productive lead. I waved to Hal and Gino and carried my slow cooker into the elevator for the ride up to seven.

Ranger's mouth twitched when I carried it into the apartment, suggesting the beginnings of a smile.

"I won it," I told him.

"The perfect prize."

"Scoff all you want, but I might use it."

"For what?"

"For cooking! I could be domestic if I wanted."

"Babe, I'm fully aware that you can do anything if you want it bad enough. I just didn't expect that to be an interest. How did the rest go?"

"I think the Bingo connection is dead in the water. The women must have had something else in common."

"Keep working at it. You'll turn something up. In the meantime, Tank is having trouble getting on the right foot with Sunucchi. Any advice?"

"I think he spends his nights with Rita Raguzzi. She has the house in Hamilton Township. That might be the best place to grab him. It's the only time Sunny isn't surrounded by his posse."

"This is shotgun Rita?"

"Yeah."

"I'll let him know."

He lifted the slow cooker out of my hands and set it on the counter, and then pulled me into him and kissed me. Leading his hands down my sides and under my shirt.

I bit my lip. "What about the eye?"

"What about it?" he said, lifting my shirt off over my head.

"I'm afraid it'll still make things difficult."

"Babe, it's difficult because your body is changing. We just need practice to find the rhythm again."

"What about the slutting?"

Ranger smiled, kissing my face. "Stephanie, do you love me?"

Oh boy. "I did say it."

"You did. And I won't make you say it again if you're not ready. But the fact you feel it means this is more than physical. With or without rings, we're in this together. Do you really think what Bella said still applies?"

When you put it that way.

Ranger found my lips again, hooking my jeans by the elastic waist to ease them down. He lifted me with one arm and set me on the kitchen table, whipping my jeans off with the other. Pulled me close. His lips were tracing my neck and I was trying really hard to get into it and forget the fear. But I couldn't. "What if it's not enough?"

"Babe, you're over thinking this."

"Probably, but what do you know, you're Superman. Superman doesn't get performance anxiety."

Ranger let out an amused sigh and kissed my forehead, resting his against mine. "You let a crazy old lady get inside your head?"

"Maybe."

"And if I told you my magic was stronger than hers…"

"Is it?"

Ranger laughed. "Would you rather start with a nice relaxing full body massage and see if that helps?"

"Yes please."

Ranger scooped me up and held me close while he carried me to our bedroom.

He got as far as my lower back before I was out like a light.


	40. Chapter 40

AU of Takedown 20, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Forty

I hadn't slept well that night, and it wasn't for the fun reasons it usually was when I shared a bed with Ranger. It had been the nightmares. Dreams about falling, over and over and over again. Every time I'd jerked awake Ranger had been there, wrapped around me like a warm, gentle anchor. He'd kiss my neck and pull me tighter. Stroke my belly. And every time, I was haunted by what could have happened. What we could have lost.

Thank god being a superhero was genetic.

I could feel the slow, even rhythms of his breathing against my back. Ran a hand over my belly. It wasn't big yet. The soft flutters still only feelable from the inside. But he was in there. Strong and resilient, and completely dependent on me to keep him safe. What the hell had god been thinking trusting me with something this precious? I was barely qualified to take care of a hamster.

"What are you thinking, Babe? I can smell something burning."

His voice was deep, still husky from sleeping, and utterly irresistible. Sometimes it caught me off guard just how in love I was with this man. "What if I'm not up to this?"

"You will be. It might take an adjustment period. But I've seen you do hard things before." He scooped my curls back and kissed my shoulder. "Maybe it would help to start thinking about names."

"Oh boy, that seems like a lot of pressure. It's one thing to name a hamster. I can't be trusted to name a person. What if I get it wrong, what if he hates it?"

"You're overthinking again."

"I can't help it!"

He laughed, rolling me toward him to kiss me. "There's plenty of time for decisions. It's just something to think about. Speaking of time, I'm late. I have a client coming in ten minutes for a briefing. Unless you'd like me to delegate so I can stay and seduce you."

"Tempting. But you should probably keep your meeting."

He brushed his lips over mine, slow and sensuous. "I will get those breathless little screams out of you sooner or later. It's just a matter of time."

ooo

Mary Treetrunk wasn't entirely on board when Lula and I went to collect her from her doublewide next to the river. She was concerned that if she took the time to reschedule and rebond, she would run out of daylight to plant her next crop after the police raid had destroyed her last one, but once I promised a bag of breakfast sandwiches on the way to lockup she was pretty happy to swing around to a more flexible way of thinking. I cuffed her hands in front of her so she could eat and loaded her into my backseat, and then drove to Cluck-in-the-Bucket with the windows down so the smell wouldn't lose us our appetites.

Hal and Gino were in a Range Rover behind us, staying back just enough to allow me the feeling of autonomy, even though we were all pretty well aware that this was an illusion. They would step in at the first sign of trouble without hesitation. Lucky for me, trouble wasn't on the itinerary.

We were pulling away from the drive-through when a black Cadillac Escalade with a satellite dish on the roof whipped past me going the opposite direction.

"Hey!" Lula said. "That's the dart gun car."

I checked my rearview mirror and saw the Escalade make a U-turn. I cut a look to the Range Rover still at the drive-through window.

Shit.

The Escalade revved closer and tapped my bumper, making Lula spill her soda. "What the heck? Now that is just rude, they did that on purpose."

They tapped my bumper again, harder that time. The traffic ahead of me was stopped for the light and the Escalade slammed on its breaks behind us. The passenger door opened and a guy with a gun got out, running for my car. It was the cinderblock guy from the bridge. I hit the automatic windows, but they weren't going up fast enough. I blazed my horn and jutted up over the center median into a gap in oncoming traffic, getting a shriek from Mary in the back seat. The few cars who might have hit me swerved or slowed, adding to the honking. I saw the guy change directions midstride to get back into the Escalade.

Cluck-in-the-Bucket was only a hundred feet in front of me, but I couldn't see the Range Rover in the drive-through anymore. The Escalade squealed a U-ey and made it over the median too. Bullets clipping into my back window. I kethunked up the curb into the Cluck-in-the-Bucket lot, looking for an exit. There were too many cars in the way. Wrenched hard on the wheel to swing me toward the street again and saw the Escalade barreling at me head on.

They were feet from me when the Range Rover T-boned them, shoving them off course. They ran up a pole.

Hal and Gino hit the ground and rushed the vehicle with weapons drawn. Shouting orders at the stunned gunmen who had face-planted the airbags. The SUV guy had his hands up. There were sirens in the distance. My Bluetooth rang. Ranger. I hit the answer button. "I'm fine. We're fine."

"I heard. That was some good driving, Babe. There are four blue and whites inbound, and Morelli isn't far behind. Just stay in the car until he gets there. I'm sending another car so Hal and Gino can follow you after they turn the scene over to PD. Do not leave without them."

Leave without them? There was a good chance I'd just wet my pants. "Okey-dokey," I told him.

I think I might have heard him smile. "Babe."

ooo

Morelli

There'd been a time, toward the beginning, when Morelli had thought it was funny to assign specialized doomsday ringtones to Ranger and his band of Merry Men. The funny had lasted right up until Steph started having brushes with death. Now that she was official with Ranger, it was more a harbinger of dread. Ranger pretty much only called when it was about Stephanie. His control room didn't call at all unless she was in mortal peril. Which made the doomsday ringtone both stress inducing, and at the same time, too accurate to change.

He could see her sitting with Lula in the armor plated mega bucks Mercedes the Man of Mystery had given her, hands still clenched on the steering wheel. Mildly freaked out, maybe. Though knowing Steph, there was likely an equal amount of curious bystander mixed into watching uniforms securing the scene. He spoke with the first officer to arrive, then with Hal, and then he made his way over to her. "How's it going?"

"Same ol' same ol'."

Smartass. "These are different guys from the ones who threw you off a bridge yesterday. How is it that you keep making so many interesting friends?"

"Must be my winning personality."

"Must be." He lost the fight to keep the emotions to himself and opened her door. Pulled her down into a crushing hug. "Christ, you scare the crap out of me."

"You're squeezing too tight, I can't breathe."

"I can't help it. Do you have any idea what it's like to hear someone you love could have died? I swear my heart stops beating every time my phone rings. Why the hell are you still doing this job?"

"Your job's no picnic either."

"Yeah, but I'm not pregnant. And the only time I get chased or shot at is when I'm with you. You're a magnet for disaster. You need a double layer of bubble wrap."

"Ha ha."

"Yeah, you think I'm joking." Morelli gave her one last squeeze and kissed her head before he moved back to look at her. Grateful she was still in one piece. It was moments like this when he honestly didn't know which of them was more insane. Stephanie for wanting to jump off garage roofs, Ranger for letting her, or him for watching the whole thing without being able to walk away. Christ. "Walk me through this before I start ranting in Italian."

"Lula and I were just driving through Cluck-in-the-Bucket before taking Mary Treetrunk to get rebonded when the dart gun guys saw us and tried to run us down."

"So these are the guys you told me about? The ones that were chasing that supposed giraffe."

"You say that like you don't believe there's a giraffe."

"I believe that you believe there's a giraffe. It's just hard not to feel foolish saying it with certainty since nobody else has seen it."

"You think it's a figment of my imagination?"

"Do you?"

"Sometimes."

He grinned. "I've been looking into it. There was a bit of chatter about a truck from a Philadelphia zoo being hijacked en route to a zoo in Florida, made the local news, but I haven't been able to get anybody on the phone yet to specify where it went missing, and there have been zero reported sightings. But giraffe or no, these guys did have a modified rifle in their possession, along with a number of large tranquilizer darts that appear to match to the one found in Ralph Rogers. If the lab confirms, you might have just handed me the break I need."

"My goal in life _is_ to be helpful."

"Bullshit, your goal in life is to be a pain in the ass." She rolled her eyes at him. Eased at least a little of his tension. "You're gonna be more careful, right?"

"I'm going to try. There's no telling how well that'll work. Apparently I can't even make a sandwich run without attracting killers."

"It's beyond me why Ranger doesn't have you chained to a radiator or something. Hell, that building of his probably has a dungeon."

The tiny grimace she tried to hide said yes. "I think he's afraid that if he puts me on lockdown I'll find a way out of it and do something stupid."

"Smart man."

There went another eye roll.

A big, shiny, expensive black SUV pulled into the lot and parker near the Range Rover. Rangeman. Morelli didn't know where Ranger got 'em all, but he was sure something about it had to be dubious. The guy seemed to have an endless supply of new and expensive cars. They always seemed to check out when one of them was involved in a Steph related incident, but the paper trail was almost too neat. Best case scenario, he had some kind of agreement with a dealership or an impound yard. Worst case, he had friends in low places who were really good at forgery.

The driver got out and changed places with Hal and the new guy. Taking over responsibility for the totaled Range Rover so Steph's shadows could keep shadowing. Ranger might be crazy, but at least he was efficient.

"Just a heads up," she said. "The guy in the back of Robin Russell's car was on the bridge too. He works for Sunny. They said they were following his orders when they threw me over."

There was no hiding that grimace. This was going to make things a lot more complicated.

Growing up the scourge of Trenton had been the expected path for a Morelli. The women in his family were all saints, but the men were troublemakers. His entire family tree was made of wiseguys and cheaters and scoundrels. His old man had been par for the course. Slapping him and his brother Anthony around to make his own worthless short life better by comparison. Joe hadn't just bucked tradition when he'd decided to become a cop. He'd pretty much put his goddamn thumb in his family's eye. The scourge of Trenton thing was the only reason some of them still talked to him at family weddings. Now there was a good chance he was gonna have to arrest his own godfather.

"Are you still trying to find Sunny?" he asked her.

"Nope. I gave him to Tank after Rita shot him."

"Does he know that yet?"

"Somebody would have to find him first to tell him. I mentioned it to Moe and Shorty, but they were throwing me off a bridge at the time, so there's a chance they didn't believe me. I don't suppose you're interested in helping."

"Between you and me, I'm not the most trusted person in my family. Price I pay for being a good cop instead of a dirty one. Nobody's gonna tell me where Sunny's staying. For now just keep your head down and stick with your Rangeman detail. And if you hear anything at all about Sunny I want to be in the loop."

"Okay fine," she said. "But just so you know, nothing after the Rita thing was my fault."

"That's sorta my point. Speaking of not your fault, the smell is starting to make my eyes tear up. I gotta get back to work before it singes off all my nostril hairs."

She made a childish face at him that she didn't mean. Made him laugh. He said goodbye and watched her get back in her own car. She gave him a little finger wave before she drove away. Two fully armed mercenaries at her back. And all he could do was pray that that would be enough.

ooo

Steph

Mary got a wide berth when we took her into the police station to pick up my body receipt. I didn't blame them. I was going to have to scrub my entire body with lemon juice just to get the smell to tolerable. I couldn't imagine what Hank was going to have to do to detail my car this time. Could be Ranger would have to swap it out for Mark 3.

Lula insisted on buying a whole new outfit so she wouldn't contaminate her firebird. I had a similar sentiment about the penthouse apartment at Rangeman. I didn't even want to soil the elevator. I let Lula out at TJ Maxx so she could pick something out, and then dropped her at the office on my way to my parents' house. I asked Hal and Gino to wait in the driveway.

"Look who's here," Grandma said, opening the front door for me. "It's a nice surprise, but holy cow do you smell like dead fish."

"Occupational hazard. Is my father home?"

"No. He's out with the cab. It's just me and your mother."

I stripped down to my undies and handed my jeans and T-shirt to Grandma. "I'm going upstairs to take a shower. Would you throw these in the washing machine for me?"

"Sure thing. Did I see one of them Rangeman cars out there in the driveway?"

"Yes. They're just some extra protection in case anybody gets the urge to throw me off of anything else."

"Seems a shame to make 'em wait out there when we got grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch."

"Just make sure I'm upstairs before you invite them in. It's weird enough living in the building where they work. I'd rather they not see me in my underwear."

"Will do. I'll lay out some clothes for you on the bed in the spare room while you're in the shower. I just bought some new underwear that you can have. They're yellow, and real pretty."

"Thanks."

Grandma winked at me.

I had to wash my hair three times before I was satisfied, and then stood under the water until it turned cold. I sniffed my arm. Either I'd finally managed to get the smell out, or my nose had gotten used to it. I toweled off, wrapped myself, and went in search of clothes. The guest room had been mine when I was growing up. For a bunch of years it was left mostly the same as it had been when I'd lived there. Gradually some of my things had migrated to my apartment and been replaced, but it was still pretty familiar.

Grandma had laid out a bright yellow thong and matching yellow sports bra with the tags still on over the old lace duvet. The mental picture of Grandma in the underwear wasn't good, but I liked that she was comfortable buying it and wearing it. They fit pretty well, considering the difference in our builds. The lavender and white silky running suit she left for me was another matter. The waist sat firm under my belly and the pants were too short. The top wouldn't zip over my bump at all. I dug up an old white T-shirt from the back of the closet. The yellow bra showed right through it and the waist was an inch too short, not ideal for having lunch in my parent's house with two of Ranger's men, but there wasn't much I could do about it at this point so I bit the bullet and went downstairs.

Hal had been in my parents' house before, but Gino was new. I wasn't sure where Ranger had found him. He had a leaner build than most of Ranger's guys, and a strong Italian demeanor. First time I'd laid eyes on him my instincts said old school mob family. Didn't take long to find out he was on parole for busting a guy's kneecaps. Normally this would disqualify someone from most employment opportunities, but Ranger had a special talent for finding just the right place for a person. It was one of the reasons his men were so loyal.

Hal stood up when he saw me on the stairs. Pulling out a chair for me. I took the seat and my mother set a plate with a grilled cheese sandwich in front of me. Grandma passed me the soup. "We heard you had another run in this morning."

"Jeez Louis, that was only a half hour ago, how does it always get around so fast?"

"Betty Walleski's son is a patrol cop. He told her there was a car chase and everything. He said there was gunfire too, but I looked at the back of your car when I went to tell these nice young men about lunch, and I didn't see any windows shot out. There were some little white marks in the back, but no holes or nothin'."

"The car Ranger got me is bulletproof."

"Well isn't that a pip? Did you hear that Helen? Stephanie's driving a bulletproof car."

My mother made the sign of the cross and went back to cooking.

"Betty said Joseph Morelli arrested some of Sunny's guys for chasing you, and that the men of the bridge were friends of his too. It's a shame you still have to go after Sunny, with all them friends he's got."

"I'm officially done hunting Sunny. I passed him off to Tank."

"Finally," my mother said. "I've been getting nonstop calls since Sunny was shot. Nobody was happy with you for going after him."

"He's a murderer!"

"Then it's a good thing you got Tank after him now," Grandma said. "He's a big one. Could be people'll think twice before going after him."

If only people would think twice about going after me, I might not be facing early suspension. "I don't suppose you heard anything more about the murdered women. I'm not seeing as much promise with the Bingo connection as I'd hoped."

"I didn't know Melvina," Grandma said, "but I knew the others. Bitsy Muddle, Lois Fratelli, and Rose Walchek. Poor Rose is going to be laid out tomorrow. I had to cancel a date so I could go. I heard you could see the cord marks on Rose's neck. I hope they don't get too covered up. I wouldn't mind seeing something like that."

"That's gruesome," my mother said.

"Maybe, but I got a natural scientific curiosity about those things. I bet I could have been one of them forensic people like on television."

"Tell me about Rose," I said to Grandma. "How well did you know her?"

"I guess pretty well. I saw her at Bingo, and I saw her at the beauty salon. And I saw her at the funeral parlor too. She liked to go to the afternoon viewings, because they weren't so crowded."

"Did she have a man friend?"

"She was seeing Barry Farver for a while, but he died. That's the problem with dating the old geezers. That's why I always say if you're going to invest in a man you got to go young. Though there are some exceptions, like if they got a car. I got a date with Gordon Krutch. He's pretty old. But he still drives, and Madelyn Krick went out with him and she said he's hot."

I could feel my mother's eyes roll even with her back turned.

"What else was Rose into?"

"She liked to cook," my mother said, putting a grilled cheese in front of Gino. "She went to all the cooking demonstrations at the kitchen store."

"That's right," Grandma said. "I forgot about that. Your mother and I go to some of them. They're real good. You should go with us next time."

"Are there men in the audience?"

"The times we were there it was almost half men. The demonstrations are early Saturday morning, and it's a good location between the liquor store and the supermarket."

"Did any of the other women go?"

"Not that we saw, but we didn't go every week."

I finished my sandwich and went to check on my clothes. They were still pretty fishy, so I ran them through a second time and dumped in some bleach. "I have to get back to work. I'll stop by later for my clothes."

"Are you coming to dinner tonight?" my mother asked. "I'm making stuffed shells, and there's chocolate cake for dessert."

"Sounds good." Hard to pass up stuffed shells and chocolate cake.

"Should we expect anyone else?"

"I honestly don't know. Ranger's had a lot going on with work, but I can ask him."

I saw the tightening in my mother's mouth. She wasn't impressed by Ranger's success if it came at the expense of family obligations.

I collected Hal and Gino and went out to my car. I was still in the too short lavender pants and the transparent shirt, but there wasn't much I could do about that until I got back to Rangeman. I'd also have to figure out the whole detailing thing when I got home too. I wasn't looking forward to telling Hank. Ranger would probably laugh his ass off.

I braced myself for the smell and opened my door.

Nothing.

I chanced a sniff. Not one hint of fish anywhere. I looked at the back window where I remembered the white chip marks Grandma had pointed out that should have marred the back window, but they were gone too.

Dammit. I'd only been kidding about Mark 3.


	41. Chapter 41

AU of Takedown 20, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Forty-One

I'd never experienced a walk of shame before that didn't involve rolling in garbage. This was damn near close. I'd left my shoes behind at my parents' house so that my mother could run them through the wash too. All I had were white cotton socks that barely met the silky lavender floods, inches of bare pregnant belly showing between waistband and shirt hem, and a bright yellow bra that was easily visible through my thin white T-shirt. Normally I would have stopped by my apartment to change before going anywhere people could see me. Trouble was, my apartment was now at the top of a building where every inch of public space was beamed into the control room in high definition. I know not one of Ranger's guys would ever dare say anything for fear that Ranger would kick their ass, but it was embarrassing all the same.

I was still self-conscious about the possible linger of dead fish stink, so I took another shower with Ranger's expensive soap. You'd think after weeks of living with Ranger that I would get desensitized to the overwhelming sexy of his Bulgari Green shower gel. Not so far. I was starting to think sleeping in Ranger scented sheets was one of those things that didn't get old. Much like the thrill of sleeping next to Ranger himself night after night.

After I was satisfied that the smell was definitely gone, I settled into the high-backed leather computer chair and ran searches on the women again. It wasn't sure I was going to find anything the police hadn't already found, but I didn't see the harm. It's not like I had access to files on an open police investigation anyway. Ranger's search programs were pretty advanced. Not NSA advanced, but close. I couldn't get excited by anything I found, though. All of the women had lived alone in different parts of the city. Banked at different places. Used different credit card companies. They hadn't had any intersecting interests or hobbies outside of Bingo and being old. I had to be missing something.

I hadn't realized the time until I heard the front door open and shut and felt the change in air pressure signaling that Ranger was home. He set his gun and his keys on the tray. "Babe?"

"In the den."

Ranger came in and looked me over, taking in the air dried hair and comfy clothes. His eyes strayed to the bright yellow underwear still lying on the bed. "Pretty."

"They're Grandma's."

One corner of his mouth twitched. He'd gotten a mental picture too. He came closer and leaned over me to give me a gentle kiss. "How long did it take the get the smell out?"

"All together? About an hour. I noticed that sneaky move you pulled with Mark 2, by the way."

"It wasn't meant to be sneaky, Babe. It's just not a good idea to advertise your whereabouts with something as obvious as bullet marks. The stealth model Mercedes is distinctive enough."

"What'll happen to the fishmobile?"

"Hank will clean it and replace the bumper and windows, then it'll go back in rotation. It's only a matter of time before Mark 3 gets smoked and Mark 2 will be up to bat again." I gave him the squinty eyed glare, but it just amused him. "Morelli was able to charge Sunny's guys with the murder of Ralph Rogers. They still made bail. Seems even on the lamb Sunny's able to pull strings."

"Please tell me it wasn't Vinnie who wrote the bond."

"I'm not sure Vinnie would survive very long if he did."

"You know, I never understood why you were working for him when I first started. You're like a heat seeking missile, you could have worked for anybody."

Ranger shrugged. "I liked the small pond. Vinnie signed enough high bonds to supplement my income and keep things interesting. And he didn't look too close at my personal history."

"What kind of personal history are we talking about? Gun running? Felony convictions?"

"What if it was a little of both?"

Oh boy.

Ranger almost smiled. "You know about my juvie record and gang affiliations. You could probably guess that portions of my military career are redacted. When I left the service, there were only a handful of occupations that I was uniquely suited for. Hunting bad guys was one of them."

"I would have thought since you grew up in Newark that you would have at least chosen a bail bondsman closer to home."

I was amusing him again. "Sometimes it's healthier to just start over," he said, brushing another kiss to my lips. "We should get going if we're gonna make the six o'clock dinner deadline at your parents'."

"You're coming?"

"I did promise to make an effort. It's also not the only thing on the agenda tonight."

ooo

Grandma lit up when she saw that I had Ranger behind me. "It's not often I get two nice surprises in one day. Looks like Stephanie was finally able to drag you away from the grindstone for a while," she said to Ranger.

"I cleared my entire evening just for her," he said with a wink. A wink! Ranger had winked at me once and I'd nearly fallen out of my seat.

Grandma smiled, clearly charmed, and led us into the house. My father was in his chair in the living room watching television, and my mother was in the kitchen. I passed through the dining room on my way to the kitchen and noticed that the table was set for five. I pushed through the kitchen door. "It's nice that you set a place for Ranger even before you knew if he was coming."

My mother whipped a surprised look at me. "He's here?"

"Yes. You did invite him."

"I always invite him, but he never comes."

"Well tonight he did."

She wiped a little of the cooking sweat from her brow and took a deep gulp of her Iced Tea, biting back the burn. She turned back to dinner. "Isn't that nice. Would you mind getting a dish for the gravy?" I nodded and did as she asked. "And then set another place at the table?"

"Another place?" Omigod. "That seat wasn't meant for Ranger, was it?"

"Hurry, you don't want the gravy to burn."

I flicked off the burner and turned to face my mother. "What did you do?"

"Nothing."

"Then who's coming to dinner?"

"No one special. Just someone I ran into today."

"Who?"

She stirred the gravy, her eyes in the pot so she wouldn't have to look at me. "Randy Berger."

"The butcher?"

"He's not a butcher anymore. He owns the deli now," she said, in for a penny. "In fact, he's been looking for someone to take over the meat counter. It could be a good job for you. You could get a regular paycheck, and no one would shoot at you or drop you off a bridge. And Randy is single. Who knows what could happen? He could be _the one_."

"I'm pregnant! And I'm living with my boyfriend. And you thought now was a good time to fix me up with the butcher?"

"It's just dinner."

"The last time it was just dinner the man was a serial killer."

"That happened one time."

"Randy Berger isn't going to be _the one_. I found _the one_ and I'm having his baby!"

"If he's _the one_ why don't you have a ring? Why aren't we planning a wedding? Why haven't we met his family or see him more than once in a blue moon? Randy may not be as handsome, but he's steady and he has a good job that the rest of the world can understand."

"So you don't like Ranger because you don't know what he does everyday?"

"I don't dislike him, he's giving me a grandchild I never thought I'd see from you, as far as I'm concerned that makes him blessed, but if he's not the kind of man who will make you happy for the rest of your life what am I to do?"

The kitchen door opened suddenly and Grandma came through with Randy Berger in tow, completely oblivious to the tense atmosphere. Berger was massive. 6'3" and built like someone who ate four double pork chops in a single sitting. He had thinning sandy blond hair and a face permanently flushed from freezer burn and peach schnapps. "It was really nice of you to invite me to dinner," Randy said to my mother, passing her a heavy parcel wrapped in white butcher paper. "I brought you a little something."

"My goodness," my mother said, reading the label. "It's a tenderloin."

"I just got it in," Randy said. "It's corn-fed, and it's got real good marbling. I know everybody's always talking about grass-fed beef, but if you ask me it's shoe leather. Give me a cow that's been shoved into a pen with a thousand other cows and forced to eat grain, and I'll show you a darn good pot roast."

I caught a glimpse of Ranger through the open door. His face was blank, but I knew him well enough to see the laughter in his eyes. He'd already put two and two together and he thought being a third wheel on my ambushed blind date was hilarious. He saw that I was ready to spit nails and the corner of his mouth twitch. Batman thought I was funny.

My mother saw it too and shoved the tenderloin into the fridge before she pushed us all toward the dining room, grabbing the extra place setting herself and giving it to Grandma. "Frank, come to the table. We're ready to eat. Did you meet Randy?"

My father took his seat and looked over at Randy. Then at Ranger. Then my mother. He was capable of addition too. "The butcher, huh?"

"Yes sir, and proud of it," Randy said. "Except now I'm also the store owner."

"No kidding? I guess you must have done okay as a butcher to be able to buy the store."

My mother set the shells in front of my father. "You see, Stephanie? You could make good money as a butcher."

Now Ranger was really smiling. "Are you considering a career change, Babe?" he asked, holding out my seat. I clipped him with my elbow before I sat down and was rewarded with a little expel of breath. Serves him right.

"Oh, I'm willing to pay top dollar to the right person," Randy said, taking the freshly laid seat next to Grandma. He offered Ranger a hand. "Hi, I'm Randy."

"Sorry," my mother said. She was redder than normal and I wasn't sure if it was embarrassment or Jack Daniels. Probably both. "This is Ranger. He's a friend of Stephanie's."

"And by friend she means they're shacked up and expecting."

"Mother!"

"Oh, there's no sense pussyfooting around it, Helen. She's four months along. Pretty soon she'll be big as a house, like her sister was. Only thing she's missing is a ring."

Just kill me now.

My father looked down the table for the red sauce and my mother jumped at the chance to go back into the kitchen. Looked like she'd had another nip when she came back. She passed the red sauce down the table with the antipasto. "There's a ricotta cheese filling in the shells," she said to Randy. "But there's a good capicola and roast beef from your store with the antipasto."

"Glad to hear it," Randy said. "There should be meat with every meal. Without meat there's no meal, am I right?"

"I like the way this boy thinks," my father said.

"What about you," Randy said to Ranger. "You look like a man who can appreciate his meat."

"On occasion."

"What's your favorite? I'm partial to pork myself. Slow roasted in the smoker with all the bits on. That first bite is like a religious experience. Are you a pork man?"

"My family emigrated here from Cuba a couple generations back. Cubans are all about pork. My mother says it's not a special day if there's no roast."

"Ah, then you understand. If Stephanie wanted the job she would have access to some top quality roasts. I tell you, I can't wait to get to work every day. It's always something new. One day you get sheep brains, and then the next day it's cow tongue." Randy turned to me. "Have you ever had tongue? It's a real delicacy. I like it when it's sliced thin, but I know some people stew it up."

I had half a shell in my mouth, and I didn't think I was going to be able to swallow it. I'd had a decent amount of tongue over the years, but I hadn't sliced or stewed any of it. I could feel Ranger's silent laugh when he put his arm around the back of my chair, rubbing a hand between my shoulders. I think he was preparing in case I choked. "I'm actually not interested in the butcher job," I told Randy. "I'm not good with meat and poultry."

He nodded. "It takes a special person. It's a calling."

"She's a darn good bounty hunter, though," Grandma said. "And she's investigating about the murdered women who got thrown into Dumpsters."

Randy forked in some shells. "I knew all those women. They shopped in my deli."

That perked my ears up enough to push the queasy meat talk to the backburner. "I would have thought they'd shop locally. Rose Walchek lived by the button factory on the other side of town. And Melvina lived in Hamilton Township."

"They all belonged to the Senior Discount Club," Randy said. "They got special deals at a handful of stores."

"What were the other stores?"

"The liquor store at the Woodley Mall. The gas station on the corner of Hamilton and Byrant. Morton's Bakery. There were some other stores too, but I can't remember them all."

"How come I don't know about this?" Grandma asked. "I'm a senior."

Randy shrugged. "It's part of the wellness program at the Senior Center. You have to be signed up for the wellness program."

"I don't go to the Senior Center much," Grandma said. "I get depressed looking at all those old people."

The wheels were turning in my brain. I wasn't sure what this meant yet, but it felt like it meant something. I'd been staring at dry data all day long looking for a pattern and all I'd seen so far was the hole where the missing piece should be. This might just be the break I needed. And here I'd been thinking this amount of awkward was an excruciating price to pay for shells and chocolate cake. I smiled at Randy and he broke out in a sweat, darting a glance at Ranger. "I don't suppose you feel the calling to be a butcher."

"No I'm good."


	42. Chapter 42

AU of Takedown 20, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Forty-Two

Ranger

Dinner at Steph's parents' place was never a disappointment, but there had been something special about watching her mother try to replace him with a pleasant but goofy overweight butcher that tickled his twisted sense of humor. The evening got even better when Edna answered the front door and let in a geriatric hobbit named Gordon Krutch. Ranger wasn't sure what Edna's plans were for the poor sap after their movie was over. His guess was Krutch had a 50/50 chance at surviving it.

He slung an arm around Steph's shoulders on the walk back to the car. "Well that was interesting."

"Which part? My mother trying to set me up with the butcher in front of my boyfriend or the grand tour of everything-you-eat-used-to-have-a-face." He chuckled and she elbowed him in the side. "Stop laughing! That was mortifying! How are you not as furious with my mother as I am?"

"She's just doing what moms do, Babe."

"Are you saying your mom is still trying to fix you up?"

"God no. My mom gave that up years ago when she realized external pressure is next to useless. But I understand the tactic."

"I can't believe you're defending her."

He paused at the Cayanne's passenger side, pressing Steph's back to the car. Leaned into her until her breath caught. "Babe, your mother is just trying to protect you. From her perspective, I'm the unknown. Not just outside of her comfort zone, but MIA most of the time. A man who's too busy to placate his not-even-future-in-laws isn't likely to be an ideal partner."

"It's not her decision."

"She never tried to make it her decision. All she was doing was showing you options." He tempted her with a slow kiss. "But just so you know, I'm not into sharing with anyone, not even a butcher."

The eye roll made him laugh. He opened her door. "Get in the car, Babe."

Ten minutes later they were parked a house down from Rita Raguzzi's place in Hamilton Township. Lights were on in the front room, drapes drawn. No car in the driveway. "What are we doing here," Steph asked. "I thought Tank was hunting Sunny."

"Tank hasn't been making the kind of headway that I'd hoped. I figured we could utilize some of those special skills of yours to narrow the search."

"By special skills do you mean blind luck?"

"Among other things."

He got out of the car and started for Rita's house, and to his satisfactions Steph hesitated before getting out to follow him. Only reason she did it was because she trusted Ranger enough to know he wouldn't endanger her or their offspring. He walked up to the house and looked in the dining room window. Rita, but no Sunny.

"Call him," Ranger said to Steph. "Let's see if we hear a phone ringing somewhere in the house."

She punched in the number. Ranger held out his hand for her phone and she passed it over. Nothing rang in the house. Then Sunny picked up. "Yeah?"

"Mr. Sunnuchi, I'd like to discuss some important business with you."

"It's not open yet."

"Where—"

"Talk to my associate." He disconnected.

"What's not open yet?" Steph said.

"I'm not sure. Do you have any other addresses for Sunucchi?"

"Too many."

Ranger drove them to Sunny's apartment building at the corner of Fifteenth and Morgan and parked across the street. They got out and looked up at Sunny's windows. All dark.

"It's possible he's sleeping, but it's more likely he's not home," Steph said. "I've never seen him here."

"Only one way to find out." Ranger stepped off the curb and let them into the building. Steph a step behind him. Stephanie was always braver when she was with him. Comfortable taking the side seat and letting his years of experience run the show. Ranger'd never seen her and Lula do recon first hand, but he'd seen enough of the aftermath to know it was amateur hour. Usually she called him in when things got serious. Which suited him fine. They'd had some of their best dates while breaking and entering. Like the time he'd got her mostly naked in a closet. Just the memory of searching through each other's clothes in the dark to find their good parts by feel made him want to drag her into a closet all over again.

He knocked twice and then bumped the lock, opening the door with his weapon drawn. He did a quick assessment and then motioned Steph in before the neighbor caught wise. Closed the door quietly behind them. He pulled the twelve inch Maglite from his belt and used both beam and weapon to sweep the apartment. There was zero evidence the place was being used for any length of time. No food in the refrigerator, closet half empty, no razor or shave gel in the bathroom. "You're right. He's not staying here."

"He owns the entire block plus scattered properties in the area. This was just the address he listed as his residence on the bond agreement."

"It would be a bonehead move to be anyplace he knows you'll look for him. That could work in our favor. I want to search this place top to bottom to see if he's left any of his secrets behind."

They didn't find anything of note in the kitchen drawers or under the bathroom sink or toilet tank, so they moved on to the bedroom. Steph found some random credit card receipts and a work order for a 15th street address in one of the bedside tables. Ranger found a bunch of condoms in the other. "I think I've figured out what Sunny uses this address for."

Steph looked in the drawer. "Eew."

"Let's check out the address on the work order."

"It's across the street from the Chestnut Social Club. That's Sunny ground zero."

"Then we must be on the right track."

The address was underwhelming at best. Closed for renovation. It took him a few seconds to bypass the security system. Found blueprints in what would likely be the manager's office. Makings of a restaurant. There wasn't a lot of official paperwork. Probably meant most of the work was being done under the table, maybe with materials that fell off the back of a truck. By the time they got to the dirt floor basement, he was pretty sure the place was a footnote in the Sunny Search logbook. They went back up to street level. "Where else would you look?"

"He uses the third floor of the Chestnut Social Club as a counting room. It's got a big safe in it. I know he spends time there, but I can't see his making it home."

"Tank said you got in before via a fire escape?"

"External staircase. There are windows on each floor that connect to the internal stairs."

"Show me."

They stuck to the shadows on the meandering walk to the back of the three story brownstone. She pointed out the entry points. "Stay here in the shadows," he told her. "I'll look inside."

"There might be an alarm."

He nodded and left her pressed to the brick wall in the dark shelter behind the dumpster. He bumped the lock on the back door and slipped inside. Bypassed the security system again. It was even less impressive than the renno site.

He started at the top. Counting room was empty. Safe sealed, lights out. No signs of a forwarding address. He moved down floor by floor. Doing his ghost thing. Not one of the patrons sensed his presence, let alone saw him. Main floor was easiest. Dank interior. Drunken gamblers too engrossed to look up. He slipped out the back door again and found Steph where he'd left her. He motioned her away from the building. "Sunny isn't in there. Do you have any other possibilities?"

"There are some row houses, and some shady business fronts, plus he's related to half the Burg."

"Your call, Babe. Where do you want to go from here?"

"Onion rings?"

"I like it."

She was standing close enough to him in the dim alley that he could see the security lights reflected in her eyes. Her air dried curls flowing unruly and defiant around her. God she was beautiful. From her vibrant stare to her sexy mouth. He traced her waist to pull her closer until movement caught his eye at the end of the alley and his thoughts skipped a beat. "I just saw a giraffe. He was walking down Freeman."

"That's Kevin."

He grinned. Of course it was. He didn't know what was stranger. Seeing eighteen feet of neck and knees amble across the road like Trenton was the fucking African savannah, or that this wasn't news to Stephanie. "As in Lula's friend Kevin? The one she bought food for?"

She shrugged. "She was worried there weren't enough trees downtown to feed him."

"Babe."

There was shouting from the front of the building, car doors slamming, and then an engine caught with the chirp of tires. The giraffe skittered into view again and charged toward them at a full gallop. Passed within five feet and vanished into the darkness. A pair of headlights followed. The black SUV blew past them, chasing the giraffe. Then it screeched to a stop at the cross street.

"They've lost him," Steph said.

"Hard to believe you could lose a giraffe."

"Kevin is wily. And the guys in the SUV might not be exceptionally smart."

The SUV moved into the intersection and made a U-turn. Shit. "Smart enough to come back and run us over."

He snatched up her hand and tugged her through the back door and into the social club's back stairwell. The handful of prostitutes and card players might not have noticed him when he was a shadow, but they sure as hell saw him towing Stephanie Plum. Eyes were on her the second she bumped the players at the nearest card table, one of whom greeted her by name. She was so busy watching behind her she fell into the cappuccino machine and sent a spray of espresso beans and accessories flying. He shoved her ahead of him and through the front door before any of them could get their wits together enough to remember their guns. Hit the locks on his Porsche. Punched the gas the second she was in her seat and jetted off into the dark streets.

A handful of goons showed up on the curb in their wake, guns drawn and searching, but the Porsche was long gone.

Steph finished clicked her seatbelt. "So that went pretty smooth."

He cut her a glance. Wiseass. "If you ever tell anyone about this, I'll have to have them killed."

She thought about that. Ninety percent sure he was joking. Maybe eighty. "You could buy me off with the onion rings."

"Deal."

ooo

He took her to a downtown pub. One of those places that was big on artery clogging comfort food and not so interested in the identities of their clientele. It was dark enough that he had to guide Stephanie all the way to the cozy back corner booth. Pulled her into him. They ordered cheese fries to go with the onion rings.

"Are you actually going to eat cheese fries and onion rings?" she asked him.

"That was my plan."

"What about the healthy food thing? Wouldn't you rather have a salad? Tree bark? A chunk of salmon?"

"I didn't see tree bark on the menu. Where are you on the Gillian murder?"

"Not any place particularly productive. Randy gave me a new place to look, but it's not a eureka!-everything's-connected sort of lead yet. Mostly I get the feeling that I'm missing something. So far I haven't seen anyone show up who looks capable of strangling little old ladies and throwing them into dumpsters. Accept maybe Randy Berger. Anybody that excited about dead meat could be capable of just about anything."

Ranger held in a laugh, but he thought she felt it anyway with the way she was nestled against his body. "Babe, that guy might be gonzo for his smoker, but that doesn't make him a killer. Physical capability notwithstanding, he'd have to be a manic psychopath to hide something this dark. Psychopaths don't break out in a sweat just because another man's girlfriend smiles at them."

"True," she said. Thinking again. "What about Gordon Krutch? He knew all the women too, and I know he looks like someone shaved a lemming, but the feeble part could be deceiving. Grandma says he takes fitness classes at the Senior Center. And he feels… icky."

"I won't discount the icky, since your intuition is usually right on target, but I can't see Krutch having the physical strength needed to lift a body."

"He could have help."

"Something to consider."

"Should I be worried that Grandma is on a date with him?"

"I'm more worried what _she'll_ do to _him_." She cut a glare at him and he chuckled, kissing below her ear. "So what's the plan?"

"I need to see a list of stores that are offering discounts. Maybe a list of seniors in the wellness program. If I can map all the places the women intersect, I might be able to figure out where he's coming across them. Have you heard anything new from the police investigation?"

"Not much. Shiller isn't the sharing type. I'm getting the impression it's as much because of the dead ends as it is the open investigation. Right now we're looking at four victims between sixty-two and sixty-seven, two of them with blunt force trauma to the back of the head, all of them strangled with venetian blind cords before they're discarded. There was a small detail I didn't think anything of until I saw Rose's house. Melvina had a single sunflower in a jelly jar in her kitchen. Rose had one in a vase in her entry."

"Did any of the other victims have sunflowers?"

"I'm not sure. I'm still waiting for Shiller to get back to me."

She rolled that around for a while, trying the piece out on different parts of the puzzle. Her phone buzzed. Text message from her grandmother. She was home and going to bed, promised to talk to Steph tomorrow. He hid a smile. Seems Gordon got off easy. She put her phone down again. "Did we just make the Sunny thing worse charging through the social club like that? One of those guys was Joe's Uncle Chooch. It's going to get back to Sunny that we were snooping around."

"He's already trying to have you killed. I'm not sure there was ever much we could do about damage control at this point. Getting him off the streets might be our best option."

The waitress brought their food and set it in front of them before leaving them alone with the scent. Steph let out a moan so close to ecstasy that he had a physical reaction. Damn. Four days of testing his control and he was dialed back to randy teenager again. He'd do just about anything to get those sounds from her right about now. She took the first bite of cheese fry and went gooey. Took some concentration to keep his hands as is. The seduction route hadn't gone great so far. Whether it was nerves over the eye or a hormone related drop in libido didn't really matter. He wasn't going to pressure her if she wasn't ready. No matter how blue his balls got.

She took an onion ring and tossed him a look. She didn't think he was really going to eat it. The body is a temple and all that. If she'd seen half the shit he'd eaten over the years she wouldn't have blinked. He took one of the cheese fries for a test drive. She watched him chewing like there was a punch line coming.

"And?" she asked him.

"They could use some jalapenos, but not bad."


	43. Chapter 43

AU of Takedown 20, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Forty-Three

Steph

Ranger was still in bed when I woke early the next morning. Ranger was usually up at the crack of dawn, running marathons at the gym or saving the world. The only time he really slept in was when he had pulled a double shift or knew there was a good chance for morning sex. Since we'd both gone to bed last night without him making a pass, I was a little stumped. "You look like you didn't sleep well last night."

"I didn't. I kept waking up thinking about the giraffe. Why is there a giraffe running loose on Fifteenth Street?"

"I don't know. The first time Lula and I saw him that black SUV from Cluck-in-the-Bucket was chasing him. They both turned the corner, there was gunfire, and when Lula and I went to investigate there was a guy lying in the road with a dart stuck in him."

"Morelli's homicide."

"Yes."

"Any idea why Sunny's guys were chasing a giraffe?"

"No."

"And the giraffe is still hanging out?"

"Yep."

"And there's been no mention in the media?"

"Nope."

"Nothing on the police scanners?"

"Nope."

"Have you told anyone about this?"

"A couple people."

You don't seem to be very disturbed by it all."

"I have people trying to kill me. A giraffe is low on my list of disturbances."

"That's where we differ. I'm used to people trying to kill me, but it's not every day I'm almost run over by a giraffe."

"You sound like you want to go big game hunting."

"The thought has crossed my mind."

"You don't have to work today?"

"No. I asked Tank to take over my schedule. I realized last night that delegating your safety to even my most capable men wasn't easing my worries."

"So you decided to handle my safety personally?"

He nodded. "I also realized that I've missed this. Working together. This way I can watch your back and benefit from your company all at once."

"I hate to tell you this, but that could get very boring. I'm not all that interesting."

An almost smile ticked his mouth. "Babe, you're both on a mob hit list and being stalked by a giraffe. People don't get more interesting than that."

ooo

Driving the search grid with Ranger was different than driving it with Lula. I loved the intimacy and power of the Porsche almost as much as I loved being with Ranger. Turns out I'd missed this too. After crawling the grid for an hour, Ranger eased to a stop at the corner of Fifteenth and Freeman and shook his head. "No giraffe."

"Yeah, it's a real bummer, isn't it? Whenever you go looking for him you can't find him, and then when you least expect it he gallops down the street."

"I can't believe I'm this hung up on a giraffe."

"That's just the way it is with some people."

Ranger looked at me. "Not you."

"Nope. Not me. But Lula is obsessed with him."

"That's not a comforting thought."

I couldn't keep the laugh to myself. I was loving it. It's not often I see the human side of Ranger. "We're done, right?"

"Right."

"Then I should check in at the office. I still have Mary Treetrunk's body receipt."

Connie was just unlocking the bonds office when we docked the Cayenne at the curb. Her brows shot up when she saw Ranger. He hadn't been to the bonds office since he stopped taking skips. Seeing the way she stilled was like old times. We went inside. "Ranger and I went looking for Sunny last night, but we couldn't find him," I told her. "He wasn't with Rita."

"He just took a load of buckshot. He's probably sitting on a rubber donut somewhere, eating comfort food. I'd look for a nurturing relative."

"Anything new come in?"

"Billie Jean Bailey skipped out. I called her mom, and she said Billie Jean followed her boyfriend to Florida. It was a shoplifting charge and not worth a trip south. You can keep it in your bag for when Billie Jean has a fight with the boyfriend and comes home. And the other one to come in is a bad one. Armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. Nineteen years old. His file photo shows gang tattoos. He gave Stark Street as his address, but it's an apartment in someone else's name. Probably this kid shuffles around."

Connie gave me the files. Ranger was standing with his chest on my back. His arm moved around me, tipping the assault file open. "Antwan Brown, AKA 'Ants.' Looks like a pleasant guy."

Yep, that was always my first thought when I saw the double teardrop tattoos. "Are you giving him to Tank?"

Ranger considered that. "If you want to hunt him Babe I'll take him down. Or we can give him to Tank."

"Well, there's no sense in letting Tank have all the fun."

He smiled. Truth was I wasn't all that keen on going after Ants Brown. Assault with a deadly weapons were always a dangerous prospect even before adding gang affiliations. But knowing that I would be going after someone with Ranger gave me a level of protection and absolved me of responsibility. Ranger would know how to keep me safe and when to call in the big guns.

We went out to the Cayenne. "Your call, Babe. Where do you want to go next?"

I bit my lip.

Okay, here was the problem. I really wanted to go to my parents' house so that I could get the scoop on Grandma's date and mooch breakfast, but I was afraid that taking Ranger along would somehow undermine the whole _not boring_ thing.

He cut me an amused look. "You're not going to make me go shoe shopping are you?"

"No." I was pretty sure even God couldn't make Ranger go shoe shopping. "I was thinking about breakfast at my mother's house, but if that's too much—"

Ranger put the car in gear and started into the Burg.

I could smell the bacon even before he'd parked in my parent's driveway and opened my door. He kept my hand on the walk up.

"Dinner last night and now breakfast. This must be our lucky week," Grandma said when she opened the door. "We got bacon and pancakes going this morning. Your mother got a new griddle, and we had to test it out. You're just in time."

My mother was busy at the stove when we came into the kitchen. She saw us and turned a shade pinker. I took a seat and set my bag on the floor. "Where's Dad?"

"He's off to help your sister unplug a toilet," Grandma said.

My mother gave me a plate heaped with pancakes and bacon, and then glanced at Ranger. "D—do you eat pancakes? I noticed that you don't seem to eat dessert. I could fry you some eggs, or make toast, or..."

"Pancakes will be fine," Ranger said. My mother pinked again. It wasn't unusually for women to get flustered around Ranger, but in this case it wasn't facing the exotic predator as much as it was the inability to reconcile the polite gentility and natural power with her guilt.

She made Ranger a plate and put on extra bacon, and then brought him a cup of coffee. "I should apologize," she began, but his dark eyes held hers and she lost all forward movement.

"It's fine," he told her. "I understand that these circumstances aren't ideal. At this point, we're both just trusting Stephanie to know what she wants."

Jeez, no pressure, right? It seemed to work on my mother, though. She liked that Ranger trusted me. Now if only I could trust myself. I redirected the attention onto Grandma. "How'd the date go?"

"It went real good. We went to the movies and then we stopped at the diner for pie. He even paid for it. And he told me all about when he was in the Army, and how his gallbladder almost burst last year, and how he only has four toes on one foot. Can you imagine?"

I wasn't sure I wanted to. The flabby belly and zombie complexion were already an image that fell nowhere near my classification of hottness. But then, I was living with Ranger. On a hotness scale of one to ten, Ranger was an orgasm.

"Gee," I said. "That's different."

"Yeah," Grandma said. "Good thing he has a car. It makes up for a lot of deformity. He's taking me to the viewing tonight. Rose Walchek is being laid out, so Gordon's picking me up early so we get seats with a view of the casket. We're going out after too. They're having a wine tasting at the liquor store. You get to try all the wines for free."

"You shouldn't be drinking with him," my mother said. "I don't trust him."

"He was a perfect gentleman last night," Grandma said. "He didn't cuss or pass gas or nothing."

"Did you?" I asked her.

"I mighta eeked one out during the movie, but I don't think anyone noticed."

Ranger was thinking about smiling while he took a bite of pancake.

I was on my last piece of bacon when Lula called. "I was gonna go to the office, but since it's Saturday I didn't want to bother unless we had something to do."

"We could track down a gang guy wanted for armed robbery and assault."

"That sounds like a lot of fun, but I might have to pass on account of I don't want to die right now."

"I also need to visit some of Sunny's relatives and ask if he's staying with them."

"Ditto for the same reason."

"Well, I was planning on stopping by the Senior Center to get information about the wellness program. That'll be pretty tame. But I should also probably mention that Ranger cleared his schedule for me today. He was worried about my safety, so we're going to be working all my cases together until the Sunny thing blows over."

"Well why didn't you lead with that? I'll go just about anywhere for a chance to see Batman in action. We should go for the gang guy as a warm up, and then send him in after Sunny. Nobody'll dare shoot at us when we got Ranger."

"Maybe we should just start with the Senior Center."

"I getcha. Get the boring stuff out of the way. Then maybe we can catch ourselves a serial killer too and make it a hat trick."

"You're going to ask about the wellness program?" Grandma asked. "I might be interested in that. Count me in."

"Is that your Granny? You must be at your mom's house for breakfast. I can practically smell the bacon through the phone. I'll go with you too if you bring me some."

"Too late. I ate it all."

Grandma nodded. "Yep. She even ate Ranger's."

"That's harsh."

ooo

By the time we'd put Grandma in the back of the Cayenne and picked up Lula, Ranger was looking like he'd misjudged his choice in activities. He drove us to the Senior Center and parked at the curb. "Go do your thing."

"You're not coming in?"

"Are you likely to run into any hitmen inside?"

"Maybe."

A half smile tugged at his mouth when he cut me a look. "Babe."

Okay fine, I'd mostly just wanted to see Ranger standing in the Senior Center. It would have likely been the highlight of my day.

We left Ranger in the Porsche and went into the administration office. A woman with short brown hair was sitting at the desk. Narrow lips, military posture, severe eyebrows that looked like they'd been drawn with a crayon. She was the Saturday morning gatekeeper who took her job too seriously. "I need a list of the businesses involved in the Senior Discount Club."

"We only give this list out to members."

"I realize that, but it's important for an investigation—"

"Are you with the police?"

"No."

"Then I can't help you."

"What if my grandmother signs up for the wellness program?"

"I said I was thinking about it," Grandma said. "I'm not completely sold. How do I know my information won't end up with one of them data farmers who'll auction it off to the highest bidder?"

"We're very careful with personal information, I assure you," the woman said.

"Oh yeah? Where does it end up? A ledger, a file cabinet…"

"We have a database here at the Senior Center. Very few people have access. The staff of course. The stores who participate in the Discount Club, so they can apply the discounts and send you promotional offers."

"That sounds like a lot of people. I don't know that I want to be getting junkmail for boner pills."

"Oh, it's nothing like that. It's all about encouraging seniors to be more active."

"Maybe you should give her the list so she can think about it," Lula said. "See if it's worth the trouble."

"I can't give her the list unless she signs up."

"That's not how you make a sale," Lula said. "She gotta know what she's getting into. This here's a commitment. You don't just sign up for stuff willy nilly. How does she know she likes the stores? How does she know the discounts are right for her? They could all be stores she'd never be caught dead in, and then what was the point, you know what I'm saying?"

"Oh honestly," the woman said. "Here, take the list. But if you want the discounts, you'll have to sign up like everybody else."

Grandma took the page and winked at Lula. I thanked the woman, but she just looked eager to have us out of her office. I herded our band back to the Cayenne. "How'd it go?" Ranger asked.

"We got the list. I thought we could check out all of the businesses and see if anything strikes us as odd."

Ranger took a picture of it with his smart phone. "I'll have this fed into the mapping software at Rangeman. Should provide a framework that will put any movement from our victims into context."

We started at Morton's Bakery on Third Street, and then moved on to the liquor store. The cashier at the liquor store remembered Meliva had purchased a bottle of wine for a dinner guest just before she was killed.

"I bet she served that wine to the killer," Lula said. "What kind of man comes and drinks your pinot noir, and then throws you in a dumpster? This man has no manners."

The rest of us agreed. The killer had no manners.

The hardware store wasn't as helpful. Plenty of people bought venetian blind cords, but nobody bought them on the regular. Gene's Pharmacy on Broad and Mayweather was the same. Three of the women had come in every Saturday to fill their prescriptions. All except Lois Fratelli, who lived nearby and had her own car. This was starting to feel like an exercise in futility. They'd all frequented the same places and all of them had shopped alone, but when you factored in that aside from Rose all of the murders were six months apart, any emerging pattern suddenly seemed worthless.

"Whereto next?" Lula asked me.

I looked at the list. Cluck-in-the-Bucket was on it. With their high turnover rates it wasn't likely anyone would have been there long enough to remember anything useful. Same with the Multiplex. Ironically, the funeral home on Hamilton was also on the list. I blew out a sigh. "I think we're done."

"Just as well," Lula said. "It's almost lunchtime and I got an appointment with Jolene for a manicure, and then I'm changing my hair color, being that pink was yesterday."

"What's tomorrow?" Grandma wanted to know.

"I'm feeling something sparkly."

"Well, isn't that a pip? I might like to try out something like that."

I was already feeling plain when I was with Lula. I didn't think I could compete with Grandma too.

We dropped Grandma off at home and Lula at the bonds office, and then drove the short distance to Giovichinni's. Ranger had been quiet during the morning's business crawl. Observing with a blank face that most people couldn't read. If there was ever a way to prove that I was boring. "Are you completely soured on the Stephanie Watch?" I asked him.

"I've been through survival missions in the desert, Babe, and not one of them was as painful as that."

"Great."

Ranger laughed and slung an arm around my shoulders.

Tina Giovichinni was working the deli counter, her white butcher's apron smudged with mustard and ketchup and other unidentifiable stains. Her eyes went round when she saw Ranger. She motioned me closer and leaned over the counter. "Holy moly. This is the guy you gave up Joe Morelli for?"

"Yes?"

She nodded emphatically. "I get it. I thought you were crazy at first, but now I get it."

"Um…"

"Sorry. What can I get for you? You want your usual turkey club?"

"Actually, I think want ham and cheese on rye and a side of the homemade coleslaw."

"You got it. And the mega hot boyfriend?"

"I'll have the turkey club," Ranger said. Tina only mildly cringed that she'd been overheard.

"Are you going to the viewing tonight?" I asked her.

"You mean for Rose Walchek? No, but my mother is going. She knew Rose from Bingo."

"Did Rose ever shop here?"

Tina shook her head. "Not that I can remember." She wrapped my sandwich and started on Ranger's. "I'm surprise you're not walking around in disguise. I hear the whole Sunucchi family is looking for you."

"I didn't shoot him."

"Too bad. I would have thrown in the coleslaw for free."

My eyebrows twitched up. I leaned forward and lowered my voice. "You're not in love with Uncle Sunny?"

"He wasn't nice to my brother, Gino. He's not nice to a lot of people."

"I don't suppose you know where he's hiding?"

"When Sunny shops here he buys blood sausage and fresh fusilli. We carry the blood sausage just for him. No one else wants it. Yesterday Bella came in and bought blood sausage and fresh fusilli."

Bella mostly lived with Joe's mom. When Joe's mom needed a break she shipped Bella off to one of the other relatives, but Bella always came back.

"Thanks," I said to Tina.

"Don't thank me. I didn't tell you anything. But just to be safe, you'll be careful? I mean, you are pregnant, right?"

"Don't worry," I said, pointing a thumb at Rambo behind me. "That's what the big guns are for."


	44. Chapter 44

AU of Takedown 20, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Forty-Four

We parked the Cayenne across the street from the Morelli house and ate our lunch. If Sunny was holed up in there, he was effectively off limits to me. I was never Joe's mom's first choice for a daughter-in-law. It was infinitely worse now that I'd dumped her favorite son to have a baby with the man in black. Barreling into her house for any reason, let alone to take down her house guest, was about on level with starting an international incident.

And that's not even taking into account what Bella might do. There might be conjuring of zombies and evil spirits involved.

"You figure a way around the awkward yet?" Ranger asked me.

I rolled my eyes at him and called Morelli.

"What?" Morelli said.

"Are you in a bad mood?"

"I'm not in a good mood. Bob horked up last night's dinner on the rug and the TV is out. And I'm lonely because my first choice of person to hang out with ditched me for Batman."

"Now I feel bad."

"Don't feel bad, cupcake. If the cable guy doesn't show up soon I'm squatting in your empty apartment to watch the game."

"I bet I could put you in a _really_ bad mood."

"Don't do me any favors."

"I think there's a good possibility your mom is hiding Uncle Sunny."

"Hiding?"

"In her house."

"Are you kidding me?"

"No. I'm serious. I think he's sitting there on a rubber donut, scarfing down blood sausage and pasta, watching _Ghost Hunters_ episodes with Bella."

"That's ridiculous."

"There's one way to know for sure. You could come over and check it out."

"No way. I don't want to know. It's one thing to put Sunny in your statement about the bridge. It's another thing to find him in my mother's house. If I found him there I'd have to accuse her of harboring a fugitive."

"That would be awkward. Do you think I should go in there and root him out?"

"No! You shouldn't be rooting anyone out, you're harboring your own kind of fugitive."

"Relax. I have Ranger with me, he'd do the actual rooting."

"Put Ranger on the phone."

I passed it over.

Ranger didn't say anything while he listened to Morelli. Then he cracked a smile and handed the phone back. "What did he say?" I asked.

"That I should take you to the beach and get you a frozen custard."

"But Sunny's trying to have me killed!"

"He's just frustrated, Babe. It's hard to turn your back on family, no matter what they've done to deserve it."

"I guess. But what are we supposed to do, just go to the beach and hope Sunny gets over it?"

"You wanna go back to Hawaii? We could rent another private cottage, bring very little clothing…"

"Oh boy."

"Just think about it," he said, stroking the nape of my neck. He leaned in and kissed me with enough heat to melt my panties. "Now stay in the car."

"Stay in the car?"

He opened his door. "I'm going to get Sunny."

He angled out and shut the door just like that, and I watched with an impressed kind of horror as he strode toward the Morelli house.

ooo

Ranger

The older model white Camry in the driveway said someone was home, but the shades were drawn. Made it hard to confirm his target. Didn't matter. Either Sunny was in there or he wasn't. As long as Sunny's goons were after Steph, Sunny was as much a pain in the ass as Rita's buckshot.

He walked up to the front door and knocked. Listened. The TV went quiet. Shadow at the peephole. Hushed voices. Yep. He was in there. Ranger knocked again. Took another second before Morelli's mom opened the door. From the cold but wary look she gave him, she knew exactly who he was. "Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Sunny."

Morelli's mom didn't get a chance to lie to him before Bella jumped in. Little and fierce. Half his height. Sharp raptor eyes. She jabbed a boney finger at him. " _You_! I know you, you stole the devil woman from my grandson. I see what you do! First she break his heart, then you break his face. You bad man, to break a good boy like my grandson. You and that devil woman, you both go to Hell, I make sure of it. I give you a good one too!"

She stuck the boney finger under one eye and pulled down the lid, sliced him with a dagger look. Released it with a self-satisfied smirk. Ranger leaned over her. "You can't send me someplace I've already earned," he said quietly. "Now either give up Sunny or I'm coming in to take him. Choice is yours."

Bella gulped and took an instinctive step back. So did Morelli's mother. That was when he heard a scuffle in the back of the house. Ranger shoved past the women and went for the sound. Found the kitchen door blocked. He put his shoulder in it and sent the chair flying. Back door hanging open in the streaming light.

Steph laid on the horn out front. He sprinted out the back door and caught the flare off the Camry's bumper as it whipped out of the driveway and peeled down the street. He hit the Cayenne's door and dropped to the seat. Slammed gears. They chased tail lights until the Camry chirped onto Hamilton. By the time Ranger got there, it was gone.

He called control and put the fleet on alert. Asked for extra cars to try and pick up the path. But he figured out pretty quick it was a lost cause. It was the giraffe all over again. "Top guesses where Sunny might flee."

"I got nothing," Steph said with a shrug. "Sorry."

"It's not your fault, Babe, it's mine. I didn't expect an ass full of buckshot to move that fast."

"He was very motivated."

"Must be."

"What happened, anyway? I thought for sure you'd be in and out, dragging Sunny by the scruff of his neck."

"Bella ran interference."

"Uh-oh. What did she do? Was there a broomstick involved, or cackling? The summoning of demons? Did she sacrifice a chicken?"

"She looked at me funny."

" _Omigod_. She gave you the eye?!"

"Babe."

" _This is serious_! Your hair could fall out, you could lose your teeth, you could break out in a rash or warts or boils!"

"Babe, the eye isn't real. She's just a crazy old lady."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"How do you know?"

He swung her a look. It was supposed to show stoic skepticism. She crossed herself in a Catholic reflex anyway. He shook his head and turned back to the road. "I have a few things to take care of at the office. Are you about done for the afternoon, or did you have a burning need to go after Antwan Brown?"

"We did start pretty early this morning. I suppose I could use a nap."

"Works for me. I'll be up at six for dinner, and then we'll leave for Rose Walchek's viewing."

"Two viewings in one week. You must be thrilled."

"Yuck it up Babe. But just so you know, I have every intention of getting you naked when we come home. It might be the only thought tonight that'll give me the will to live."

ooo

Steph

I was dressed in a pair of slinky black slacks and white blouse when Ranger came home. He didn't bother to change. He was only there to guard my body. A Rangeman fleet car was saving us a spot when we got to the funeral home. Good thing, too. I'd underestimated how high profile Rose's murder was. Every spot was filled, and there wasn't any street parking left. The crowd so massive it was overflowing onto the front porch and down the steps. It had to be total insanity inside.

Ranger beeped the Porsche and took my hand on the way into the building, but elected to stay in the lobby while I fought my way through the crush to get to slumber room one. It was packed, and it was hot, and smelled like funeral flowers and deodorant failure. The noise a smidgeon below rock concert. There was a man standing by the head of Rose's casket. Obviously a relative. He was my target, but the line of mourners was long and trying to cut it would likely result in a fight, followed by my immediate dismissal from the proceedings. My best bet was to wait until the viewing was ending and everyone flocked to the lobby for a last minute cookie.

I looked over the crowd. Grandma and Gordon were in the second row. She saw me and waved. "Over here," she shouted. "We saved you a seat."

It took me a second to realize the seat was between Grandma and Randy Berger. That's how massive Randy was. Not fat, exactly, but big and meaty. Dominating the space. I made a _no thanks_ gesture, but Grandma wasn't having it. Berger managed to pull most of himself off the seat and I squished myself into it.

"I was hoping you'd be here," Berger said. "I thought I should tell you I didn't know when your mom invited me to dinner last night that you were seeing someone."

"You didn't know I was pregnant?"

"Oh, I'm pretty sure I remember hearing about that from your grandmother, but I guess I didn't put it together that you'd have a fella. I mean, you definitely do, right?"

"Yes. You met him last night. He's in the lobby."

"Just making sure. Because even pregnant I wouldn't have minded taking you to dinner. I'm at the age where I might be ready to start thinking about a family."

"That's great. But I'm going to stick with Ranger. It's his baby and, you know, I love him."

"Oh, of course. And the job offer? I don't suppose you've put any more thought into becoming a butcher."

"I don't suppose I have."

"You could try it part time."

"It's still a no. Sorry." Sheesh. If I didn't get out of the tiny space I was going to scream. "I'm going back for a cookie."

"I'll go with you," Randy said.

"No! You have to stay here and save my seat."

"She's right," Grandma said. "I'll never be able to hold two seats in this location. These people get vicious when it comes to a good seat."

I excised myself from the spot and made my way out to the lobby again, talking to people as I worked through the crowd. I was looking for information on male friends, new friends, shopping friends. I was hanging out by the cookie table when I started a conversation with the woman who lived across the street from Rose. "Were you and Rose good friends?" I asked her.

"We were friendly enough in a neighborly way, but I can't say I knew her very well. Rose kept to herself. I know she spent a lot of time at the Senior Center. The little bus would come and pick her up."

"It must have been hard for Rose to get around, since she didn't drive."

"Her brother used to take her shopping every Saturday, but a couple of weeks before she was murdered a different car started showing up. I imagined it was some other relative."

"Do you remember what the car looked like?"

"Gray. And I remember there was a man driving, but it wasn't her brother."

"You didn't know him?"

She shook her head.

At eight-thirty I started maneuvering myself back to the viewing room. A lot of the crowd had started to move on, so I joined the line of mourners still filing past the deceased. Managed to get up to the casket just as the lights dimmed. I murmured my condolences and introduced myself to Rose's brother. "Did anything in Rose's life change in the weeks before she died?" I asked.

"Rose was pretty set in her routine. She'd never really been the adventurous type."

"What about the Saturday shopping trips?"

"I used to take her every week, but I had foot surgery about a month ago. Couldn't drive for a while. She said one of her friends from the Senior Center had volunteered to drive her around while I was healing."

"Did you know the friend?"

"Never met him, but it sounded like she'd known him for some time. One of those good souls who help out when rides are needed."

"I don't suppose you know his name?"

"I think it was Gordon."

I saw my whole day go up in smoke.

It was Gordon. The Jolly hobbit. The guy with the car. Mr. Popularity. The guy who would have to strangle a woman with one hand so he could use his bronchial inhaler with the other. Even as I stood there I could hear him wheezing, trying to keep up with Grandma, who was fighting like hell to get to the cookie table before the good ones were gone. Problem was, Gordon could have an accomplice. Gordon could be luring old ladies off into the bushes with the promise of a ride to the butcher shop, and his evil twin, nutso cousin, or whackjob roommate could be strangling them and tossing them into the dumpster. I hurried to catch up. "I'm going to head out," I said to Grandma. "I told mom we'd give you a ride home."

"Thanks, but Gordon and I are going for a nightcap after we score some cookies."

"I don't think that's a good idea. I promised Mom I'd bring you home."

"Don't worry," Gordon said. "I'll take good care of her. And I won't keep her out too late."

I couldn't reconcile the sweet school boy way he said it with the oogey way he made me feel. Didn't matter anyway. Grandma didn't have an ounce of doubt in her and there was nothing I could do short of having Ranger pick her up and toss her in the car that was going to get her to go with me.

I pointed a finger into Gordon's chest. "I am holding you personally responsible for her welfare."

"You can count on me," he said.

ooo

Ranger put an arm around me on the walk back to the Cayenne. It was comforting, but didn't alleviate my worries. "Did you ever find out who was taking Melvina shopping?" I asked him.

"Yeah. It was your grandmother's friend, Gordon Krutch. Seems he's the senior citizen go-to guy when someone needs a ride."

I blew out a sigh.

"Not liking that information?" Ranger asked.

"No. Rose's brother said that Gordon was driving her around for a few weeks before she died too, but he seems entirely incapable. Grandma's out with him right now."

"Sounds like Gordon give out lots of rides. Might be a coincidence."

"Might not."

"If anyone can handle themselves, it's your granny. I could see her accidently shooting someone, but I can't see her getting murdered and tossed in a dumpster. She's too wily. Did you pick up any other leads?"

"No."

Ranger opened my door and watched me angle into my seat, then walked around to his side and slid in, pulling his arm along the back of my seat. Traced the nape of my neck with his fingers. "So what's next? Am I taking you home?"

The way he touched me was trickling molten honey down my spine and low into my belly. Utterly delicious. But the nerves were still fluttering with the memories of my epic failures. I wanted him so bad it hurt and I was too scared to do anything about it. Even if he was warm. And safe. And gooey like a hot caramel coated brownie fresh from the oven.

"Well?" Ranger said.

"Let's see if we can flush out Uncle Sunny."

Ranger put the Cayenne in gear and drove the short distance to Joe's mother's house. He parked across the street and one house down, and we sat in silence watching the neighborhood. Lights were on downstairs, the windows open. The Camry parked in the driveway. "The car's back."

"Not surprising. Driving it would have been a red flag. I had Gino sitting on the house after we lost Sunny, he said a cousin returned it this afternoon."

"Does that mean Sunny's not in the house?"

"Hard to say. I'm gonna go check it out," he said.

"That might not be a good idea. What if Bella puts another curse on you?"

"Would it make you happier if I start with windows?"

"Yes."

Ranger thought about smiling and got out of the car. Disappeared into the shadows. He was back ten minutes later, empty handed. "Sunny's not in there. Just Morelli's mother and grandmother watching _Dancing with the Stars_."

"He could be sleeping upstairs."

"I checked upstairs."

"Wait, how did you get upstairs?"

He slid me a smile. "Babe."

I had a vision of him scaling the roof eves like spiderman and got a little hot. Sometimes it was tough, dating a superhero. "So do you have any ideas?"

He slid me another look, that time dilated black.

Oh boy. "Any ideas about finding Sunny?"

He put the car in gear. "If he's as frustrated as I am, he'll be at Rita's."

Twenty minutes later, we were parked across from Rita's house. I could tell by the lights that she was home, even if I couldn't see her through the blinds. Ranger got out of the Cayenne. "Let's talk to her."

I followed him. "Just like that? No snooping first?"

"Babe, if I'm going to sneak around in the bushes with you, I'm not wasting time looking in Rita Raguzzi's windows."

God that shot straight to my doo-dah with thoughts of lace and dirt and hot, panting need. Last time I'd snuck around in the bushes with Ranger, I got pregnant. "Guess we'll just knock on her door."

Ranger rapped a couple times and Rita answered. She looked at me, and she looked at Ranger. She did the slow whole-body scan, head to toe, and smiled. "At least you came with a present this time."

"We're looking for Sunny."

"He's not here, but tall, dark, and handsome is welcome to come in for a drink."

"Tall, dark, and handsome is going to pass on that offer," I told her, "but keep me in mind if Sunny drops dead in your bed and you want to get rid of him."

We left Rita and headed out of her neighborhood.

"Is it likely Sunny will drop dead in Rita's bed?" Ranger asked.

"He does have a bad heart."

We were out of ideas for finding Sunny, so I let Ranger take me home. He held onto my hand on the way up to seven. Let us into the apartment and locked the door. Set his things on the tray. He lifted my purse off my shoulder and put it next to his gun. Pulled me into him and kissed me. It was slow and sexy, but tightly contained. Like he was waiting for a signal. He kissed my nose. "Why don't you go into the den and pick a channel. I'm gonna get us some water."

"That's it?"

"What were you expecting?"

"After all the innuendo and the hot looks, and the promise to get me naked?"

"Is that what you want?"

"You said you were frustrated."

He smiled. "Not exactly a new condition, Babe. I have a lot of years practice at being patient."

He pecked my lips and went into the kitchen. Retrieved a couple bottles of water from the fridge. He was very amused that I followed him.

Ranger set the bottles on the counter and leaned into me. "Something's on your mind." I bit my lip. There was. It was a question. Only the last time I'd asked it I didn't get a great answer out of Morelli. Ranger waited. Teasing my lips like he was the rest of me. "Babe?"

"Suppose for some reason that we couldn't have sex anymore," I asked him. "Would you still love me?"

He looked at me, his deep black eyes holding mine with an intensity that made it hard to breathe. He tucked a curl behind my ear. "Babe, I love you because of who you are. The incredible sex is just a bonus."

The warm glow filled me all the way to my toes. I felt my eyes well too. "I love you," I told him.

I didn't even stutter when I said it.

Ranger kissed me and I let my heart overwhelm my body. Trying to get as close to him as I could. I had a fistful of his shirt behind his shoulder. Another at the small of his back. He was all strong muscle and power, but he didn't take the lead from me. I pulled at his shirt and he shed it. Unbuttoned his pants and he lost those too. Stood there totally naked while I rolled my tongue back in my mouth. I could never get over how beautiful he was. He was jaw-drop sexy, and perfect. And he loved me as much as I loved him. How amazing was that?

I took his hand and led him into the bedroom. Sat him on the edge of the our bed. I started to lift my blouse and he put his hands on me. Guiding it up my body and over my head. I felt my bra come loose. The straps sliding down my arms with his strong hands. He kissed my breast and hooked his thumbs into my waistband, dropping my pants to the floor.

I climbed on him and explored, first with my hands, then with kisses, and for all his passionate caresses and the sounds he made he didn't once flip me over and take control. He lifted up to reach my mouth, touching everything while he supported me.

We'd made love before. But this. This was so much deeper than I'd ever thought possible. My soul felt too big for my body. Mingling with his all around us. He held tight to my hips when I moved over him. Met my rhythm. Worshiping in a language we'd learned in each other. And when we finally found relief and settled back into our own bodies, sweaty and sated and completely at peace, it felt like a part of him was still with me.

From the way he looked into my eyes, I was pretty sure he could feel it too.


	45. Chapter 45

AU of Takedown 20, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Forty-Five

Ranger

Steph's body was practically glowing, laying there naked on top of him, sheets tangled around them like they always did after hours of intense passion. She was still asleep. Completely spent. Their carefully constructed walls crumbled like Jericho. They'd never connected on that level before. There had been love. Trust. Even faith. But now there was hope too.

That was something he hadn't had in a very long time.

He felt her stir and opened his eyes to see Steph staring at him pretty intently. Cute little crease between her brows. "Problem?"

"I don't see any rashes or boils. And your hair's not falling out. How are your teeth feeling?"

Ah. The eye. "Told you she was just a crazy old lady."

"What exactly did she say?"

He debated answering. Wasn't like it could be proven in this life anyway. "She said she was sending me to Hell."

"Oh god."

"I hate to point out the high likelihood I was heading there all on my own."

"This isn't funny!"

"It's a little funny," he said, distracting her with a tempting kiss. "If you're worried about my immortal soul we could always go to mass. I don't often have Sunday morning off, and I'm sure it would do wonders for your mom for us to be seen at church together."

"I thought you weren't the type to try and impress your girlfriend's parents."

"As you pointed out, I didn't used to be the type to have a girlfriend at all. But in this case, it's not so much to impress your mother as it is to put her at ease. Seems kind of cruel to let her run around with visions of you struggling and lonely as a single mother."

She scoffed. "Yeah, she's not going to be happy until I'm wearing a ring," she murmured.

"Is that something you want?"

Their eyes held and he saw it when she gulped. This line of conversation was out of her comfort zone. She was saved by the buzzing of an alert on his phone. He retrieved it off the bedside table. "Report from Gino. I asked him to run his own streets and see if there's any mention on Sunny's activities that isn't on the official radar. Apparently Sunny's been busy. That renovation site we visited is a pet project he's had going for a while now, but word is it ran into a snag. My guess is it was him getting arrested."

"Morelli said something about Sunny having a project too. Would getting arrested really slow him down that much? He seems capable of a lot of things even on the run, and I get the impression he's not worried about permits. Did Gino say what it was?"

He scrolled a little. "Just says restaurant, which we already knew. Sounds like it might be an underground kind of thing. Could be a new mob hangout, or maybe they plan to serve more than food."

She shot up with a gasp. "Omigod. They're going to eat Kevin!"

"The giraffe?"

"Yes! Sunny was going to open an underground restaurant but hit a snag, and now his men are chasing a giraffe through the streets. It all makes sense!"

"Then why isn't it being reported?"

"Sunny owns that entire block and most of the buildings around it. Would you rat out your landlord to the local news?"

"Fair point. Are you going to tell Lula?"

"Are you kidding me? She'd camp out in Sunny's neighborhood until she found Kevin and then try to coax him into her apartment. I'm worried enough about her already."

"I could call animal control."

She thought about that. Wasn't comfortable with the options. "Do you really think they'd be able to find him?"

"Honestly? With Sunny's guys still in play it might not be the best idea. I could see them intervening if they saw authorities sniffing around."

"So we just have to hope Kevin stays wily?"

He shrugged. That was about the shape of it. "So about church."

"You were serious?"

"Yes."

Coy smile. "Are you feeling guilty about what we did last night?"

"Babe, last night was a religious experience all its own." He traced a long line down her naked body, settling on her belly. The coy turned sweet. She took his hand and guided it. Pressed it tight. Baby must be moving. He loved that she was finally excited about it, but he wasn't expecting he'd feel anything yet. She was only sixteen weeks.

Something nudged his hand.

She lit up when he smiled.

Ranger moved down her body and kissed the spot. Rested his cheek. "Are you having a party in there?" She nudged him again, twice. One after the other. She might like his voice after all. "You're not gonna give me as much trouble as your mama, are you?" Another nudge.

He really hoped that wasn't one for yes two for no.

Steph toyed with his hair and he looked up at her. They were a family. She was glowing with it. So damn beautiful it hurt. He moved up and kissed her softly until it carried them away again.

ooo

Steph

I didn't honestly believe that Ranger was taking us to mass until he parked the Turbo at the church. The last time I'd gone to mass was shortly before we found out I was pregnant. When I'd promised God I'd give up swearing and go to church if he just made one little pregnancy test turn out negative.

Well. It had been negative.

Wrong. But negative.

I heard people gasp when we walked in. Usually, seeing me at church would cause people to wonder what I'd done that had driven me to attend mass. With Ranger at my side, I was getting new looks. Some of them were judgey. Some covetous. But most were the sappy, shiny-eyed gazes that considered us a done deal. Turns out Ranger had avoided marriage by pot roast only to end up married via mass.

We stopped by my parent's house after so that I could check up on Grandma. She was doing the Jumble, and my mother was ironing. Oh boy. "What now? Why are you ironing?"

"Since when can't a person iron?"

"You iron on Thursdays after you do the laundry. Ironing on Sunday is mental health ironing. You probably ironed this same shirt ten times."

"Tell me there's nothing wrong with the baby."

"There's nothing wrong with the baby."

"Then why did you go to church? Harriet Chumsky called and said she saw the two of you at mass."

"Ranger wanted to go to mass."

"Ranger wanted to?"

"Yes. He usually has to work Sunday mornings, so he never gets to go, but since he took some time off to protect me he was free. He wanted to go."

"He just… wanted to go?" she said, turning to him. Too surprised to do more than blink. He'd said the day we announced that something he attended mass with his family in Newark, just not as often as he'd like. I didn't know how devout he was. It was hard for me to see Ranger following someone else's rules. But I had to admit, sitting with him through a whole service, I could tell he'd enjoyed it. Like it had brought him peace.

My mother, on the other hand, was having trouble merging the dangerous mercenary who impregnated her daughter with the man who likes going to church.

She settled on pleased.

"I have fresh coffee," she offered Ranger. "We also picked up some donuts this morning from People's Bakery."

"Coffee would be great," he said.

She smiled and got him a cup. I helped myself to a donut. "How did the date go last night?" I asked Grandma.

"It was pretty good. We went to the diner for rice pudding, only thing is he had car trouble when we came out, and he had to call his nephew to come get the engine started. He said he's thinking about buying a new car. I wouldn't mind that on account of his car right now is gray. If I'm going out with a guy who's shorter than me and has asthma, I think he should at least have a red car."

"I don't trust him," my mother said. "He's too happy. And he's not from the Burg. What do we know about him? Where does he live?"

"He's got an apartment in one of those buildings by the DMV," Grandma said. "I haven't been there yet. It turns out he isn't as hot as people say."

"Melvina Gillian was talking about a new boyfriend just before she was killed," I said to Grandma. "Do you know if any of the other women had boyfriends?"

"Not that I heard. It's hard to get a boyfriend when you're a certain age. All the good ones are dead. Do you think there's some Don Juan going around sweettalking the ladies and then throwing them into a dumpster?"

"It's possible."

"Wouldn't that be something? Sometimes life is like a television show. I wouldn't mind seeing this Don Juan. I bet he's got a red car. Or maybe it's some mob guy. It came to me last night that these women could have owed the wrong people money. What if they were gambling, and they couldn't pay up?"

"What kind of gambling?" I asked her. "Off track betting? Late night poker?"

"Online Bingo."

"What makes you think they were gambling online?"

"I tried playing a couple times. It's real cutthroat Bingo. You got to pay to play, and you could sink a lot of money into it if you keep playing and don't win anything."

"Did all the murdered women play?"

"I don't know about all of them, but I know Bitsy Muddle was on all the time. And I was playing once when Lois was playing. I knew it was them because I knew their handles. Bitsy was 'Little Bit,' and Lois was 'Hotsy Totsie'. They were on just about every night, but usually not until after nine o'clock. There's other things to do up to nine o'clock. Television shows and real-life Bingo."

Boy. I'd had fun winning the slow cooker, but I couldn't see being that into Bingo.

I got the information from Grandma and finished my donut. Then I ate Ranger's. Hey, it wasn't like he was going to eat it. We said goodbye and got back in the car. Only I had no idea where to go next.

Actually, I had an idea of a place that would be helpful. I just wasn't sure how comfortable it would be with Ranger involved.

"You're thinking again and it doesn't look pleasant. Just spit it out, Babe."

"How would you feel about going to see Joe?"

"Would this be a social visit?"

"Could be case related. Does it make a difference?"

"Social visits require bringing beer."

"Then we should bring beer. Just in case."

ooo

We made a quick run to pick up a case and then drove over to Morelli's house. Parked on the street, behind his green SUV. I rang the bell and let myself in. The television was blaring, and Kenny and Leo, two of Morelli's cop buddies, were on the couch. There were empty bottles and chips on the coffee table. They grinned when they saw we'd brought more beer.

"He's in the kitchen," Leo said. "He's making up his famous wings."

Bob was in the kitchen with Morelli, watching him carefully, hoping for a wing to drop to the floor.

"What's going on?" I asked him.

"Ball game. The Mets are playing."

I looked at the platter of wings he was holding. "Leo said you were making up your famous wings. I didn't know you made wings."

"I buy them at Costco. When I want to get fancy, I put them on a plate."

"I wanted to talk to you."

"Go ahead," Morelli said. "We can talk while I make my famous blue cheese dressing for the wings." He took a bottle of blue cheese salad dressing out of the fridge and dumped it into a bowl. I heard the front door crash open and lots of screaming and little feet pounding their way to the kitchen. "That's Anthony. He's got the kids today," Morelli explained, glancing at the door. That was when he saw Ranger. "I'm guessing you didn't show up because you missed hanging out."

"Not entirely, but we did bring beer," I offered.

Little Anthony, Angelina, and Bobby ran in and jumped up and down, yelling. "Uncle Joe! Uncle Joe! Uncle Joe!"

Morelli took a big bag of M&M's off the counter and threw it into the living room. "Fetch."

The kids ran out, and Morelli picked up the plate of wings. "I gotta take these out to the guys."

"We didn't mean to barge in."

"You're not barging. Just give me a minute."

Morelli set the platter on the coffee table and the front door opened for Morelli's sister and two more kids. The activity level was getting closer to prison riot. Morelli waved us back into the kitchen. "Sorry it's a madhouse. Happens every game day. I never invite anybody, but they all keep showing up. I don't know how to get them to stop. Anyway, what was it you needed to talk about?"

"It's about the dumpster murder case."

"You know I'm not on that. That's Butch Shiller's case," Morelli said, getting two more bags of chips out of the cupboard.

A pack of kids ran in, grabbed the chips, and ran out. Bob ran after them. A moment later there was a lot of shrieking and screaming. "Omigod, what happened?" I said.

"Bob got the chips," Morelli said. "It happens all the time. So what is it about the case that's got you here with Ranger in tow?"

Bob galloped through the kitchen with the bag of chips in his mouth and crashed through the screen door. The kids followed him into the backyard and chased him around in circles.

"I'm listening," Morelli said.

"Well. I was doing some footwork, trying to figure out how the murderer was getting close to his victims. I thought there might be a Bingo angle, since all the women played, and when that turned bust I looked into the Senior Discount program. But every time I think I'm getting somewhere I hit a wall. Like I'm missing a very big piece of the puzzle."

"What do you think is missing?"

Angelina was at the back door. "Uncle Joe, Bobby rolled in dog poop."

"Again? Don't let him in the house," Morelli said. "Anthony," he yelled. "Your kids rolled in dog poop."

"Again?" Anthony said. "Why don't you clean up your damn yard?"

Anthony walked into the kitchen, and Joe handed him a plastic garbage bag, a roll of paper towels, and dish detergent.

"What's he going to do?" I asked Morelli.

"Turn the hose on him." He put a hand under my elbow and tugged me toward the stairs. Cut a look to Ranger. "Put that beer on the table there," he said in a way that meant follow. "They'll just have to help themselves for a few minutes."

Ranger put the beer down and followed us up to Morelli's office. It was messy and comfortable, like Morelli. Cluttered with old baseball mitts and worn out running shoes and stacks of papers that would never see a filing cabinet. It was always a stark contrast to Ranger's office. Ranger didn't clutter his life with personal items. Ranger was about efficiency. Joe pointed me into the office chair and leaned against the desk with his arms folded. "So what's this about?"

"I need to know what I'm missing."

"Probably a lot. I know Ranger's gifted at tracking and your mix of luck and can-do attitude works miracles, but neither of you are part of the official investigation. There's bound to be stuff you aren't in the loop on."

"Like what?"

Morelli sighed. "Like that this particular MO isn't just localized to Trenton, and it goes back further than eighteen months."

"How long has it been happening?"

"About ten years. Over a three state area."

"And the police still don't have any suspects?"

"No. This guy's been dumping bodies in dumpsters for ten years and he's never been caught. Never been seen with the vics, always covered his tracks after draining their accounts. It's been tossed around that he might have accomplices or a front man, but he'd have to have a different front man in every city, because so far no one has been able to connect the dots."

"Grandma's been spending time with a man named Gordon Krutch. He was seen driving both Melvina and Rose right before they died."

"Shiller's checked into him already. He has a rock solid alibi for both murders. He was playing Bingo. Dozens of people saw him."

"What about the sunflowers?"

Morelli raised an eyebrow. "That's not supposed to be public knowledge."

"But there were sunflowers at all the women's houses?"

"Yeah. It's a calling card. As far as we can tell they show up right before the women disappear."

"How do they get there?"

"Courier. Always paid for with stolen credit cards."

"So not traceable."

He shook his head.

"The women's bank accounts that were drained. Are we talking about a lot of money?"

"It ranged from fifteen hundred dollars to just under thirty thousand."

"Do you suppose they could have been paying off gambling debts?"

"They wouldn't be killed if they were paying it off. Usually you get killed if you _don't_ pay up." He looked to Ranger. "So why is it you're tagging along? Not that I don't appreciate your presence."

"Sunny's people have moved on Stephanie twice and got released on bail both times."

Morelli grimaced. "And you're keeping her in sight in case they get more ideas. I get it. I wish there was something I could do to make this go away. I don't have a lot of influence in my family."

There was a crash downstairs followed by the sounds of shouting and the patter of toddler feet on hardwood floor. Bobby was streaking naked through the living room.

Morelli shook his head. "Look, I gotta go manage the zoo. If you want you can call me later," he said to me. I acknowledged that. Morelli nodded to Ranger, and then we went down the stairs and out the back to avoid wading through the mosh pit.

Ranger slung an arm around me on our way to the Turbo. "When it comes time to start discussing godparents, is your shortlist going to include Morelli?"

"Jeez. That would be super awkward. Why would you ask that?"

"It wouldn't be an unreasonable guess. Mine is obvious. Only one on it is Tank. You've got a few more choices as to who you would want to raise our child if anything happened to us."

"You say that like you wouldn't mind me picking Joe."

Ranger shrugged. "From what I just saw he's no stranger to the chaotic family life. And he's more responsible than Lula."

This was true. I just didn't ever think that Ranger would be comfortable with the idea of Morelli being involved in raising his child. But then, maybe he was thinking it wouldn't be so bad, since he'd be co-parenting with Tank. Boy. That was a TV show I'd pay to see.

We went home to Rangeman so that Ranger could do some paperwork while I used his heavy duty search program to do more research into Gordon Krutch. I knew the cops had already cleared him, but I couldn't get rid of the icky feeling. Gordon was even more boring on paper than he was in real life. The most exciting thing to happen to him in the last year was the emergency gallbladder surgery. Looked like his insurance had picked up the tab for that. Good thing too. His financials weren't in hot shape. I didn't know how he was supposed to afford the new car he'd told Grandma about. He was just scraping by most of the time. There were a few anomalies, but I wasn't a financial whiz. I had no idea what they could mean. But I didn't see any big payments that might indicate he was being paid to lure old ladies for a serial killer.

I gave up that digging and got out the new files Connie had given me. Flipped over to Antwan Brown. Ants lived on the fifth block of Stark street in a heavily infested gang area. I didn't have any desire to troll that section of Stark, even with Ranger. It was mostly burned out buildings covered in gang graffiti. The front stoops hosting dead eyed bangers and low level drug runners, if there was anyone out at all. I decided to take a shot that Ants would be on social media. It's surprising how many idiots post incriminating photos with their exact locations.

I found Antwan Brown's twitter account.

There were a lot of tweets about music. Some chest beating about how tough he was. He had ham and cheese for lunch, blah, blah, blah. He trash-talked about a girl he'd messed up. His brain-dead friends tweeted back their support. More blah, blah, blah. He hung out with Big Al after basketball.

Eureka. This was exactly what I was looking for. He played basketball. I kept reading. There was mention of his usual noontime basketball game. I knew where the basketball court was in that section of Stark. And I knew when he would be there. Now I just had to figure out whether or not I could go with Ranger tomorrow or if I should call in the SWAT team.

Whenever I have a really serious problem to consider, I find it helps to mull it over while in my thinking position. I laid out on the bed and covered my face with Ranger's pillow. I was pulled out of a deep sleep when my phone rang. The display said it was Lula. "—ello?"

"Were you sleepin'? Your voice is all husky like you was sleepin'."

"I was just thinking. What's up?"

"I wanted to know what you were up to tonight. I was hoping you might want to go out with me under cover of darkness and look for Kevin. I haven't seen sign of him in a couple days and I'm real worried. What if he's laying in the middle of the road starving? I haven't been leaving him lettuce."

"I think someone would notice a giraffe in the middle of the road," I said. Though I couldn't help the fear deep in my stomach that Sunny's guys had gotten to him. That would just be awful. "I'll talk to Ranger about it when he comes home. Maybe we can all go looking for Kevin together."

"You think Ranger would be interested in looking for Kevin?"

I thought there was a good chance Ranger would suggest it before I could. I checked the time. Almost six o'clock. "Ranger will probably be home any minute. I'll call you and let you know what he says."

We disconnected.

My phone rang again, this time from my mother's house. "Have you seen your Grandmother?"

"She isn't at home with you?"

"No, and I've been calling and calling and she's not answering her phone."

I told my mother I'd call her right back and hung up. Called Grandma's cell. Straight to voicemail. I called my mother. "Maybe she's having dinner with her girlfriends."

"She with a man, I'm sure of it. She just got a flower delivery. That's a sure sign."

"She is a grown woman. She's allowed to see a man if she wants to. What kind of flowers were they?"

"There was only one. A sunflower."


	46. Chapter 46

AU of Takedown 20, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Forty-Six

Ranger

Something was wrong. He felt it the second he stepped into the apartment. He could hear Steph on the phone in their bedroom. Pitch of her voice somewhere near I'm-not-panicked. Her bravado was missing. Not a bad guy. That could only mean someone she loved was in danger. She flinched when she saw him in the doorway. Hadn't heard him coming. Another bad sign considering her sixth sense. "What is it, Babe?"

"I'm sure it's nothing," she said for the benefit of the caller. "A courier just dropped off a _sunflower_ for Grandma, so my mom is worried that Grandma not coming home for dinner means she's away with a man friend. She called me because Grandma isn't answering her phone."

Translation: Edna was with the serial killer.

He tried Edna himself. Straight to voicemail. "I'll try pinging it."

Steph followed him into the den. He brought up the triangulation program and put in Edna's number. Nothing. Must be turned off.

"Who was she last seen with?" Ranger asked.

Steph put her mother on speaker. "Ranger wants to know who picked her up. Was it Gordon?"

"I don't think so. She said Gordon was a dud, and she had someone new on the hook. You mark my words, she's fooling around with a married man. It's that Internet. She's on it all the time. I went upstairs and looked, and her laptop is missing from her room. The Buick is gone too."

That was helpful. The Buick had GPS tracking wired to its battery.

"Grandma doesn't even have a license," Steph said.

"Try telling her that. Honestly, the woman is giving me gray hairs. It's like living with a teenager. It's you all over again. You used to sneak out at all hours. I'd check on you in the night and your bed would be empty because you were running around doing god knows what with god knows who."

Ranger shot an amused look to Stephanie. Sometimes it was surprising how much they had in common.

He tapped a couple keys and brought up the Buick's GPS signal. "Looks like your granny's at the 7-11 on Broad Street. I'll send the nearest patrol car to check up on her."

"How did he find her so fast?" Helen wanted to know.

"Ranger has GPS tracking units installed in all of his fleet vehicles, and the cars I drive. That includes the Buick. It's his way of keeping track of me, so he can find me if I'm in trouble."

"He keeps track of everywhere you go?"

Steph grimaced. "It's not as creepy as it sounds. It's more like a safety net. And hey, it showed us in two seconds where Grandma took the Buick."

His phone buzzed. "Terrance is on the Buick's location. No sign of occupants. He's checking inside the store."

"When you say safety net," Helen said. "What does that mean exactly?"

Ranger tried not to smile.

It meant half the time her movements were monitored and at the slightest threat he'd have her followed. Alerts wired through the system to send off alarm bells if any of her trackers went offline. They called it a Code Plum.

"It means Ranger can be a little overprotective," Steph said. "He takes my safety very seriously."

Incoming from Terrance buzzed his phone. He opened the line. "No sign of the granny anywhere. Store's empty. Buick's clean. No blood. No struggle. No bodies in the trunk."

"See if they've got surveillance. We're en route."

"Copy that."

Ranger hung up and slid his phone away. Turned back to Steph. "Let's go find your granny."

"Stephanie?" Helen said.

"Don't worry, Mom. We'll find her. Finding people is what Ranger does, and he's very good at it. I'll call you when I know something. I'm sure it'll all be fine."

ooo

Steph

I never liked lying to my mother. But in this case, the truth would push her from ironing and light drinking to heavy drinking and potential heart attack. We went down to the Cayenne and drove to Broad Street. Ranger's guy was already in the manager's office at the surveillance desk. The manager didn't look very happy about it. I was guessing there had been some intimidation involved with the request for access. Ranger played the tape. Buick pulling up. Grandma getting out. She waved to someone out of view and then left the frame. "Time stamp says this was an hour ago. See if any of the surrounding buildings have cameras," he said to Terrance. "Maybe there's an angle of the car she got into."

Terrance nodded and left. Ranger turned to me. "If Terrance comes up empty, where do you want to start searching?"

"My mom doesn't think Grandma's with Gordon, but he's definitely on my suspect list."

"You have an address?"

I pulled out the printed pages of research on Gordon and gave him the whole folder. Ranger flipped through them. Then his eyebrow ticked up. He gave the folder back and put the Cayenne in gear.

We drove across town to the apartment building by the DMV offices where Gordon Krutch lived. We parked and took the elevator to the third floor. The building was very Practical Pig. Sturdy construction. Neatly maintained. Nothing fancy. Exactly the kind of place you'd expect a senior scraping by to live. We rang the bell to Krutch's apartment.

He smiled big when he answered the door, but I was pretty sure it didn't go very deep. "What a nice surprise," he said.

"I was looking for Grandma. Have you seen her today?"

"Can't say as I have."

"What about Frankie the Fish?" Ranger asked him. "Marky Mancusa, Jorge Salazar? I could keep going, or you could just tell me which loan shark you took money from to cover your gambling debts."

Gordon's already cement complexion turned chalk white. Smile dropping. "I don't know what you're—"

"How do you know he has gambling debts?" I asked Ranger.

Ranger cut a look to the folder I was still holding. "The anomalies in his financial record. They point to a gambling addiction. It's not surprising you didn't recognize it, since it doesn't follow the normal pattern. These markers show a third party. Gordon here is either in very deep with someone or he's making payments in other ways." He had Gordon with the unblinking dark stare. "Edna Mazur met up with someone outside of the 7-11 on Broad Street and hour ago and went radio silent. I want to know what you know. Preferably without this having to get ugly."

Boy, when a man like Ranger makes a threat it really sticks the landing. Gordon looked like he might be standing in a puddle any second. "It wasn't my fault."

"Who's fault is it?"

Gordon swallowed loudly. Cut a brief glance at me.

" _Mine_? Wait, how is this _my_ fault?"

"You wouldn't leave it alone. You kept pushing and pushing and he got angry. I wasn't even under this time. I was even. But he wanted to make a point. He said that since you wanted to be a literal pain in his you-know-what that it was what you deserved. Only it wasn't supposed to be now."

"Because you don't have an alibi?" I guessed.

His lip quivered. "I'm not a bad man. It was the online games, they suck you in. One after the other, all night long. Before you know it your credit is maxed. I needed the money or I'd be turned out of my apartment, so I took the loan. Only my social security isn't enough that I can pay it back. He said I could matchmake instead. Help him meet up with the women he wanted on the sly. I used to play Bingo with Lois and Bitsy. I didn't know until after Bitsy was found. I tried to get out after that, and he hit me enough to burst my gallbladder."

"Omigod."

"Name," Ranger said.

Gordon didn't want to say it.

Ranger's phone buzzed in his pocket. He checked it. "Terrance got a hit off the gas station camera across the street. Edna got into a black Lincoln Town Car."

I stared at him dumbfounded for a minute while it all clicked into place. It was so obvious I slapped my forehead. "That's why none of the dots ever connected. I kept expecting the murderer to show up. At the funeral home, at Bingo, with the Senior Discount Program. But he never showed up, because he was already on the run! If he'd shown up I would have arrested him on the spot."

"Where did Sunny take Edna?" Ranger asked Gordon.

"I don't know, honest. All I did was get the women someplace private where he could swoop in and turn on the charm. They would make dates on their own after that."

"Most of the women lived alone," I told Ranger. "He could have met them in their homes and done it there. But Grandma lives with my parents. It doesn't fit the pattern."

"Means he might not have a contingency plan. Could be shortsighted enough to do something stupid."

"Like?"

"Take a potential victim to his bachelor pad."

I thought of the drawer full of condoms. "Eew."

Corner of his eyes crinkled. Ranger turned the full measure of badass onto the frail old man. "You have until we've dealt with Sunucchi to turn yourself in. You don't want me coming back here. Am I clear?"

Gordon nodded dumbly, his mouth still hanging open.

I waited until we got back in the Cayenne. "How did you know it was gambling?"

"I've seen the patterns before."

"Is gambling addiction included in you-used-to-everything?"

The corner of his mouth twitched. "How do you know I wasn't the loan shark in this scenario?"

Oh. Jeez, that was a good point. "Are you sure he'd take Grandma to the address he put on his bond agreement?"

"Only one way to find out."

ooo

Ranger

Sunset was still a ways off, but the sky was starting to think about it. He parked the Cayenne in a side street alley. Didn't want any of Sunny's men to know they were coming. Called in for backup, just in case. "I don't suppose I could talk you into staying in the car."

"Grandma's in there. I can't wait."

"Can you hold a gun with that finger?"

She gave it a shot rather than risk getting cuffed to the oh shit handle. The finger was still painful, but it bent. He gave her a Ruger from the lockbox under his seat and they started for Sunny's building. Up two flights. Paused at Sunny's door.

Someone was crooning Sinatra.

Ranger put his foot in the door and it popped open on it's hinges. Sunny on one knee in front of a half clothed Edna. She was mid strip tease. Down to her lavender bra and matching pants, her floral blouse twirling above her head while she shook what was still capable of shaking. It might not have been pretty, but it was impressive in its own way.

Both she and Sunny flinched.

"What the heck?" Edna asked, making no attempt to cover up. "You weren't supposed to find me yet. Just give us twenty more minutes. I wanna finish my routine. The rest won't take too long, since we're old."

"He's the murderer!" Steph cried.

"He already said he shouldn't a run over Stanley, and you weren't chasing him anymore."

"He's the dumpster killer!" Steph said. "Gordon was in on it too, he told us everything. Sunny sent you a sunflower and he was going to strangle you with venetian blind cords."

Edna blinked at Sunny. "I didn't see that one coming."

Sunny was still kneeling. Jacket off. Shirt unbuttoned over his untucked undershirt, slacks, and shoes. He looked from Edna, to Steph, to Ranger. Then he went for his ankle gun. Steph squeezed out a shot in panic. No surprise when it went wide. Poked a clean hole in his drywall. Sunny scrambled to his feet and jumped out the open window, clattering down the fire escape.

Shit. Ranger hated when they ran.

"Stay with your grandmother," he said to Steph. She nodded.

Ranger went for the window and leapt through to the iron grating. Sunny was half down the ladder. Paused long enough to shoot up at him, bullets pinging metal and clipping the brick behind him. Ranger grabbed hold of the railing and swung over the side. Took hold of the ladder's edge to control his fall. Sunny gaped at him. "What, are you out of a comic book or something?"

Or something.

The black Lincoln Town Car squealed into the alley. Called by the gunshots. Sunny skittered toward it when his goons popped out of the windows and opened fire, forcing Ranger to take cover. He lost eyes on Sunny.

"He's behind the dumpster!" Steph shouted from the fire escape one floor above their heads.

At least Sunny was trapped too.

Ranger returned fire. Moe had to duck behind the Lincoln's rear end. Shorty peeking from the front quarter panel. There were SUV's barreling their way through the main streets. Two different directions. No telling who's backup it was. "Who's incoming?" he called up to Steph.

Took a long second for her to make the assessment. "The satellite SUV is on 16th. Wait! Rangeman is coming off Morgan, behind Moe and Shorty. You're sandwiched in!"

Upside, that meant Sunny wasn't going anywhere. Downside, this could turn O.K. Corral in under ten seconds. Tank would have called in to PD when first shots were fired, but there was no telling how long it would take them to get there.

"Call off your dogs, Sunny. It's over."

"The Hell it is. Your guys aren't gonna shoot to kill and I've got men between us and them. I'm getting out of here, and I'm taking you down before I do it."

Cute. Like Sunny was the scariest guy who'd ever tried to kill him.

There was a commotion at the south end of the alley. Shouts and confusion. Sounds of awe. Ranger saw it when his guys lowered their weapons in shock. Moe and Shorty pausing mesmerized. Then he heard Lula shouting. "Not that way! Not that way!"

The giraffe cantered around the corner. Eighteen feet of muscle and power in the purple haze of twilight. Passed his men. Passed the Lincoln. Every person in the alley, himself included, too stunned to consider anything but the massive African animal coming at them. Kevin slowed when he saw the other end of the alley blocked. He towered only feet from Ranger and Sunny. Lowered his incredible height to look Sunny straight in the eye. Sunny didn't breathe for a second. And then his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell.

Dropped dead by his own giraffe.


	47. Chapter 47

AU of Takedown 20, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Forty-Seven

Steph

I'd never been that close to a big animal before. It was humbling, standing on the second story fire escape, eye level with a giraffe. He was right next to me when he clattered to a stop. Those big brown eyes surrounded by lashes I would kill for. And then he'd looked right at Sunny.

There had been a long beat of shocked silence the moment Sunny fell. His men were staring around at half of Rangeman. Not sure what to do. Some of them looked like they wanted to get to Sunny, since it looked like he'd had a heart attack. Others wanted to run. The incoming sirens wooped in before they had a chance to decide. Red and blue flashing on the darkened buildings all around them. Sunny's guys surrendered, and Ranger's men relieved them of their weapons just as the cops flooded in.

Grandma got dressed and we went down to the street. Found Morelli in the chaos. He was calling an ambulance for Sunny. I could tell from the set to his mouth that it was a formality. There wasn't going to be much anyone could do. Sunny's bad heart had given out.

Ranger sent one of his men to the hospital to keep custody of Sunny's body.

I went to stand next to Morelli. "What do you think will happen to Kevin?"

"Kevin?"

"It's what Lula named the giraffe."

Morelli looked up at Kevin where he was corralled in by the Rangeman SUVs. Skittering because of the flashing police lights. "I'm staring right at it and I still can't fucking believe there's an honest to god giraffe in downtown Trenton."

"Ranger couldn't get over it either. He was only slightly less obsessed than Lula."

Morelli grinned at me. He'd never seen the human side of Ranger before. "I was finally able to get ahold of someone at the zoo in Philly. They confirmed it was a giraffe on the highjacked truck. Turns out they had too many males, so they were sending this one to a zoo in Naples, Florida. I've already talked to the zoo. They said they're still ready to take him. They're arranging for someone now to come pick him up."

"What do we do with him until they get here?"

"Just keep him from jumping the SUVs I guess. It sounds like they're sending someone soon."

Kevin stopped skittering once the lights and siren's stopped. Lula was waiting with him. Clearly in seventh heaven. Kevin had been born in the Philadelphia zoo and was used to people. He was even letting her brush him. Ranger and several of his guys were standing nearby until Animal Control could get there and take over, just to be safe. That, and how often do you get a chance to stand that close to a real life giraffe.

Grandma and I gave a statement to a gruff but relieved Butch Shiller, and then Ranger took us to the Cayenne so that we could drive Grandma home. My mother was waiting on the front porch for us. She looked like she'd spent the last hour answering calls about her mother, daughter, and the father of her daughter's illegitimate child being in a standoff with the mob over the dumpster murders. She snatched Grandma to her bosom. "What on God's green earth had you been thinking," she said. She let Grandma go and crushed me too.

And then, to our collective surprise, she hugged Ranger.

"Thank God for you. You give me a grandchild, you jump off a bridge for my Stephanie, and now you've saved my mother. You're a good, good man."

Ranger accepted the embrace, if a little taken aback. "Stephanie put all the pieces together. I was just following her lead."

Mom wiped her eye and hugging me again. "He's humble too. You should marry that one," she whispered to me. "I thought he was the devil, but he might just be an angel in disguise. If little Joseph Morelli the Terror of Trenton could turn into a respectable police detective, maybe anything's possible."

ooo

Ranger

Stephanie was quiet on the drive home. Never a good sign. He hoped she was just processing everything that had gone down, and not overthinking what her mom had whispered to her. Ranger had been very careful so far to avoid the subject. It wasn't a conversation that had a high likelihood of going well. Even if things had been very good between them.

He let them into their apartment and set down his things. "You solved the case."

"Yeah, but most of it was dumb luck."

"That's not how I see it. You poured a lot of focus into this, and you were the one who put it together in the end. Without you, Sunny would have kept at it for who knows how long. Unless your granny's stripping had given him the heart attack and he went toes up on his own."

"If that had happened what would have been the point in me doing anything at all?"

Ranger cut her a look and saw the self doubt. He pulled her into him with a soft kiss. "Talk."

"It's nothing."

"Babe, I know a lot of women. Never in the history of the world has that ever actually meant it's nothing."

She blew out a sigh. "It's what Bella said."

"I thought we were passed that."

"Sure, maybe one part. But she put the eye on me to make me stop bounty hunting, and here I am officially on light duty, and I don't know what that means now that the dumpster murder case is over."

"You're feeling aimless."

Another sigh. "Yes."

"Babe, light duty doesn't mean you have to sit around learning to crochet baby socks. You can still do most of the investigative parts of the job. And when that doesn't work anymore we'll find something else to keep you from going stir crazy."

"You say that like you think I'll be climbing the walls trying to get out."

"It's not a baseless fear. You once stun gunned Hal to get out of my building."

"That was years ago."

She also had a tendency to pick fights when she was stressed out or anxious. She didn't exactly have a stellar track record when it came to cohabitation. Longest Morelli got her was three months, and that was only because her sister and Kloughn were occupying her apartment. Steph had been so ready to be back in her own space she'd moved in with Ranger and started house hunting on her sister's behalf. Ranger and Steph were going on their first month sharing living space, and he was very aware that Dillion had officially finished renovating her apartment. She could vacate any time now. "All data points count in a pattern of behavior," he told her.

"So what now?"

"You still have your assault with a deadly weapon. Have you looked into him yet?"

"He's playing basketball at the court on Stark at noon tomorrow."

"How do you know?"

"Twitter."

"Good thing bangers aren't especially smart. You want me to send Tank to pick him up, or would you rather I take you over there so you can be a part of the takedown?"

"Am I still a bounty hunter if I'm not the one making the apprehension?"

"Are you afraid being management will cut down on the sense of accomplishment?"

The non-committal response said yes.

He kissed her favorite spot below her ear. "Would it make you feel better if you wrestled me into cuffs? You could even be sporting an give me a head start."

"You would let me win."

"Babe, trust me. There's no outcome of this game in which I don't win." His phone interrupted them with a buzz. He read the display. "Looks like I need a raincheck. I've got a client with a major security breach and a missing 1500 lbs safe."

"Bummer. I was really starting to get into the whole handcuffs thing."

He flashed her a hot look. If he thought for an instant she was serious it might have been tempting to call in sick. "I don't suppose you wanna tag along."

"Not exactly professional to bring your pregnant girlfriend on a job."

"Steph, our personal relationship is incidental. You're the closest thing to an investigator I have on my payroll. If it weren't for the fact you're not licensed I'd've put it on your ID badge."

"Really?"

"Yes. So are you in?"

She bit her lip. Tired from her eventful day. But in the end, her curiosity won just like it always did. "Where are we headed?"

ooo

Steph

Lula was eating a donut and reading a magazine on the faux leather couch when I got to the office just before noon the next day. She looked like she'd been out as late as I was. "How'd it go with Kevin?" I asked her. "Did he get off safely?"

"Yeah. Those zoo people came about an hour after you left with their big ol' trailer with the high canvas top. They loaded Kevin up pretty easy. I even talked to one of the giraffe wranglers. She said the place their takin' him is real nice. I'm gonna miss him, but I'm happy he's going to a good home in Florida. I might even visit him at the zoo there."

"Seems like everything turned out okay," Connie said.

I had to agree. Everything had turned out great. Kevin was on his way to a new home, old ladies were safe to Bingo again, and I had a body receipt for Sunny that would add even more nice padding to my already healthy bank account.

The front door opened and I held my breath praying I hadn't just jinxed myself. I was afraid I'd see Bella wielding another gun shrieking about my part in her nephew's heart attack. Instead, I saw Morelli. He came into the office. "All of Sunny's accomplices were arrested last night. They're being held without bail. But I guess you already know that, since I don't see a Rangeman shadow."

"Ranger got the call last night. Moe and Shorty confessed?"

"Yep. With Sunny gone, they wanted to plead down. Gave up names for the other front men. I'm starting to get how he got away with it for ten years. The front man would get the women alone, Sunny would turn on the charm, and then Moe and Shorty would do cleanup. The only real connection was the sunflowers. In retrospect I guess it was an obvious clue."

"Did they say why he was doing it?"

"Fun. It was how Sunny got his kicks."

"Sick."

"Yeah. It's pretty messed up."

"How are you doing with all of this?" I asked him.

"I'm okay. Sunny was the kind of godfather that showed up for birthdays and Christmas and gave great presents. Offered plenty of advice on girls when I got old enough to ask. He was responsible for a lot of my game in my early years, but we weren't all that close after I joined the force and gave up chasing women. There was a time I wanted to be just like him. Thank god I grew up."

I could second that. Morelli might have his faults, but he was a good man. Something no one in his family could take credit for but him. "How did Bella take it?"

"I think that one's gonna take a while longer to sort out. But don't worry, she'd not gonna come shoot up the office again. I'm not sure what happened, but she suddenly seems very willing to let bygones be bygones."

The front door opened again and Lula and Connie went still. The prickle on the back of my neck said it wasn't Johnny Depp. Ranger and Joe acknowledged each other via eye contact, his hand settling on the back of my neck. "You ready to go, Babe?"

"Yep."

"Where y'all headed?" Lula asked.

"We're going down to Stark Street to take down Antwan Brown."


	48. Chapter 48

AU of Top Secret 21, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Forty-Eight

Ranger

6 months in

Ranger didn't do a lot of bond enforcement these days, but there were still a few exceptions. One was obviously Stephanie. He'd take just about any excuse to spend a little one on one time in the field with the love of his life, who was at her core an adventure junkie, even six months pregnant. The other was apparently family. Alonzo should have put more thought into it when he bonded out Emilio Gardi, given the reputation for being untouchable. Not only because he had friends in high places, an army of thug body guards, and money to burn, but because his enemies had a tendency to disappear. And he was full of himself enough that he didn't think the pesky court date for racketeering charges in Miami should interfere with his dinner plans in Jersey. Lucky for Alonzo, the restaurant in Princeton was practically in Ranger's backyard, and Ranger had the skills and the resources to handle 'untouchable'.

He was standing with his back to the wall at the dining room entrance, Tank at his side. Watching through the dark, crowded din while Gardi charmed his sycophants with that carefree arrogance. Dressed like a cartoon South Beach mogul in his tan sports jacket and obnoxious red and yellow floral shirt. Steph was at the bar acting as lookout. Entirely too cute in the sexy black maternity dress Ella had picked out, the skinny cocktail straw of her Italian soda sticking out of one side of her mouth. Her eyes were on Gardi too. Sharp as a bird of prey. She scanned the exits again for the bodyguards that usually surrounded him, unable to believe their luck that the goons had left as soon as he was seated. She seemed satisfied. "The room is clean," her voice said in his ear.

Ranger moved toward Gardi, Tank at his back in case the goons weren't as gone as they looked. Flicked his black suit coat open so he could reach his cuffs, or the weapon nested in the small of his back if things went sideways. Stood behind Gardi, put a hand on his shoulder, and leaned close to his ear. "Bond enforcement. I'm going to need you to come with me."

Gardi just shrugged his hand off. "No thanks, pal," he said for the table's benefit. "You're really not my type."

His friends laughed, adding to Gardi's swagger. Asshole actually believed he was untouchable. Ranger leaned in again, not as polite. "Either this goes smooth and civil, or it gets ugly. I'd choose civil if I were you."

He tried to brush Ranger off again, losing his cool. "I don't care who you think you are," he said, but Ranger snatched Gardi right out of his chair and slammed him facedown on the table. Everybody snatched up their drinks when the rattle scattered cutlery. Murmurs covering the ratchet of Ranger's cuffs. He tugged Gardi standing again and shoved him toward Tank, garnering a few gaping stares from the tablemates. Like they'd never seen a six and a half foot wall of muscle before. Ranger didn't even need to straighten his suit coat. "I apologize for intrusion. Have a pleasant evening." And then he turned toward the door and strode out, leaving the usual shocked whispers in his wake.

Jose and Rodriguez had the fleet vehicle idling outside the restaurant's front door, waiting for Tank to shove Gardi into the backseat and shackle him to the floor bolts. He'd be tucked away in a holding cell in the Rangeman basement until he could be extradited to Miami via chartered flight tomorrow morning.

Steph tripped out through the front door just as they were bolting Gardi in. Ranger shut the door and turned his full attention to her. She was a whole head shorter than him in her flats. The now obvious swell of her belly throwing off her balance enough that heels were out of the question. Steph was accident prone on a good day. Pregnant she was a walking talking one woman obstacle course. And so incredibly amazing and sexy that the extra worry was so very worth the trouble.

He let his eyes move down her body, taking in every tantalizing curve. "Babe."

It was a word that carried a lot of meaning between them. Something she'd learned to read well over the years. There was always an undertone of affection with it. An implied 'I love you' even when he was angry or frustrated. But this time, it also meant that he couldn't wait to get her home, strip that cute little dress off of her, and worship every inch of her soft glowing skin. And she knew it. The smile was coy and confident when she tucked her fingers around his lapels and pulled him close. His hands rounding that beautiful belly on the way to her back, pressing her body into his. He brushed his lips across hers like a promise and opened her door to the Porsche. Watching her angle in before he shut it and moved around to his side. The powerful engine thrumming through them.

He put a hand on her knee and headed north under the edge of skirt. "That went smooth as expected."

"Better than expected. I thought for sure his body guards would have tried to stop you. They didn't even peek in to see him go out in cuffs. Whatever he's paying them, it's too much."

"Maybe Tank scared them off," he said, inching higher. She shivered in a way he knew by heart.

"Maybe," she cooed, only half thinking. Made him smile. They'd been together for six months now. Officially living together for three. Which was the benchmark she'd managed with Morelli before she was tearing her hair out trying to get in her own space again. Ranger'd been watching the days, waiting for signs that it was coming. And instead of picking fights and getting stubborn, Steph had started putting her things away. Settled into his space like it was home when she could have gone back to her empty apartment any time she wanted.

The real benchmark for being settled would be to give up the apartment all together, but so far she hadn't broached the subject, and he was too smart to bring it up and start pushing buttons. The rent was cheap enough that her peace of mind was worth it.

He stopped for a light, tracing higher, and she shivered again. Her hand moved to his thigh. His mouth tipped up at the corner and he leaned toward her. Drawing her into a kiss so consuming he barely had the attention to know when the traffic started moving.

Damn. It was still a half hour to home.

He parked in his personal space by the elevator and came around to open her door. Holding tight while she balanced on her unbalanced feet. Tugged her into the elevator for the ride up to seven. He nestled her against his chest. Arms around her as he nuzzled her neck in a baseline level of affection his men would have grown used to in the control room. He let them into the apartment. "Do we need to feed the pregnant lady before I toss that dress on the floor?"

She got that sultry look in her eyes and bit her lip. "It could wait."

God she was sexy.

He scooped her up and carried her to their bedroom. Heard her flats hit the floor one then the other as he kissed her. Set her on her toes by their bed. Her hands searching his body inside his jacket before she pushed it off his shoulders, going for the buttons that ran down his chest while she kissed the bare skin that was already showing at his open collar. He let his hands move under her skirt again. Tugging the satin panties down her thighs. Caught a glimpse of bright vibrant plum and nearly groaned. Leave it to Steph to hide such bright sexy colors beneath the understated black. So her he would have gone hard if he wasn't already there.

She dropped his pants and he took a seat on the edge of the bed. Hands moving up her body until the dress was over her head and forgotten. The matching plum bra gone in a second. And then he had her across his lap completely bare. A comfortable space between them while he kissed her breast, catching a nipple with gentle teeth and soothing it with his tongue, her body vibrating with heat and pheromones. He held her up when she lost herself in him. Cherishing the flush and the glow as she came apart. Panting his name in a hoarse little whisper until he tipped over the edge with her. Savoring the quiet moment of being one with the woman he loved.

He kissed her, slow and lazy, until the belly between them growled, making him laugh. "Now it is definitely time to feed the pregnant lady. What are you thinking? Should I see what Ella has ready, or would you prefer a sandwich or a pizza? Or maybe more of that watermelon you asked for at four in the morning last night that I had to send one of my men on a quest for an all-night grocery store to find?"

She bit her lip again, getting that sweet goofball smile. "Maybe tacos?"

He had to laugh. "That's a new one."

ooo

Steph

Wrapped in Ranger was my absolute favorite way to wake up. All that irresistible mocha skin. Warm and nibblable and all around me. Most days it was still hard to believe that he was my boyfriend. I gave into temptation and let a hand wander down his chest and onto his stomach, his defined muscles still perfect even when they were relaxed. They contracted under my fingers. First sign that he was awake. Second sign was when he nestled me flush against him and buried his face in my neck. Lips brushing my skin. The sensations dancing down to my toes.

He moved to my mouth and caressed my belly. Let the hand rest there. Somehow knowing by instinct where the baby was kicking. "She's pretty active this morning."

"He's active every morning."

"Still sure it's a boy?"

"Pretty sure."

"We could find out at your appointment Thursday."

"Assuming he cooperates this time. I'm starting to think he's inherited your sense of secret."

Ranger chuckled, kissing me. "Or maybe your stubborn streak."

"I am not stubborn."

"Babe, you're the definition of stubborn. But I never said I didn't like it," he said when I ruffled. His hand moved down my belly and headed south. Hard to get worked up to a proper mad when Ranger's hands were on me. He really doesn't fight fair. "What's your plan for the day?"

"Thought I'd go to the office. See if anything good came in."

"Hal has the morning off, but you can have Ramon. He's been fully briefed on the particulars of your detail. He'll stay back and let you lead as long as he doesn't see a threat. Handle anything physical including the takedown."

"I know it's not the most glamorous job your guys could be doing. Following the pregnant lady around so she can feel like she's participating." Most women who were six months pregnant were starting to think about maternity leave, not chasing felons. And while the felon chasing for me was more figurative at this point than literal, I'd still been having trouble at the idea of giving it up. Part of that was because I liked the rush. Even when I was just tracking someone down and sending Ranger's guys in to root them out, there was still an element of excitement and purpose. The other part was that I was still freaked out by the idea of getting stir crazy at the top of Ranger's ivory tower. There were only so many times I could waddle around his building before his men started cutting those amused looks at me again.

Ranger smiled. "Babe, my men are as aware as I am that you do the heavy lifting when it comes to locating skips. It saves them the more tedious parts of the job. And they all like you. It's not just following the pregnant lady to them. As long as you still love it, we'll do what we have to to see you have the support you need."

He meant every word too. So different from the constant nagging I used to get from Morelli. "Are you taking Gardi to the plane personally?"

"Yes, but his flight isn't until nine o'clock tonight. Which was fortunate. Means Tank and I won't have to reschedule the final walkthrough at the government building downtown." He kissed my shoulder and across my collar, leading down. "That also means I don't have to leave right away."

The touching got purposeful and my toes curled. God, it felt good. "Does that just include time for morning sex, or do we get to have breakfast together too?"

He traced my collar bone with his smile on his way down. "I think I've got time for both. We might even be able to fit in a shower."

Oh boy.

Was I a lucky girl or what?

ooo

Connie was at her desk when Ramon and I walked into the bond's office. Ramon helped himself to the coffee and took a comfortable seat on the couch. And because this wasn't his usual assignment and he didn't have to worry about daily temptation, he took a donut. Connie raised an eyebrow. Hal almost never took a donut.

"How'd it go last night," she asked me.

"It was good. Ranger walked up to Gardi, yanked him out of his chair, and cuffed him. Very smooth."

"And?"

"That was it."

"Ranger didn't take you on a date since you were all dressed up? No dinner and dancing?"

"Nope. We had dinner at home, and I'm not exactly in dancing form."

"Disappointing. Getting all dressed up just to take down a sleaze from Miami."

I couldn't hide the cat-who-ate-the-canary smile. "Well. It wasn't a total waste."

Connie and Ramon had opposite reactions. Connie got loose, fanning herself with a folder while her eyes glazed. Ramon went tight. Trying extra hard not to picture it.

"Anything new come in for me?" I asked as change of subject.

"I have a failure-to-appear. High money bond. Jimmy Poletti."

"He owns all those car dealerships, right? Shoots his own commercials. 'Make a deal with Jimmy!'"

"Yeah, turned out some of the deals were taking place in the back room and involved underaged girls imported from Mexico."

I took the file Connie offered and paged through it, stopping at Poletti's mugshot. Very respectable. Sixty-two. A little doughy. Thinning gray hair. Crisp white dress shirt and striped tie under a nice dark blue suit. "Boy, you never know from looking at someone."

The front door banged open and Lula stomped in just shy of rhino mode. Her voluptuous body squeezed into a black satin bustier from her Wild West 'Ho House collection and a poison green skirt that came down just far enough to cover her doo-dah. "I just got a speeding ticket, do you believe it? What's this world coming to that a woman can't drive down the street without some picky policeman harassing her. Yeah, I was going forty-three in a thirty-mile-an-hour zone, but my baby wasn't meant to go thirty miles an hour. Thirty mile an hour zones should be illegal." She looked at the spot she usually would flop into and saw Ramon. "And now we got Zorro here eatin' all the donuts."

Connie shoved the box toward her. "There's plenty."

Lula brightened and helped herself, taking a big bite of a fluffy one with pink icing. "So what happened last night with you and your tall, dark and sexy baby daddy?"

"He captured Gardi. No shots fired."

"And?"

"Why does everyone want the And? We've been living together for three months. We're old news."

"Girl, there ain't nothing about this that gets old. Besides, I got a curious mind. I wanna know how he still waves his magic wand and makes you a happy princess when you're getting your own zip code."

"Jeez Louis, I'm not that big."

"Vinnie stuck his head out of his office. "What's with all the yammering? I can't hear myself think in here. And why aren't you out catching some scumbag? Ranger gives you these big guys for a reason. Go put him to use. I'm out big money for Jimmy Poletti. Go have your new sidekick drag his butt back to jail." Vinnie slammed his door shut and Lula stuck her tongue out at him. "I saw that!"

"How'd he see that?"

Connie pointed to a newly installed camera over Vinnie's door.

Lula gave the camera the finger.

"I saw that too!"

I shoved the Poletti file in my messenger bag. "We're heading out. Shouldn't be hard to find Poletti. It's not like he's a gangbanger."

"He's sort of like a TV star," Lula said. "I wouldn't mind seeing what he looks like up close. I'll go with you."

ooo

Jimmy Poletti and his third wife lived in an upper-end neighborhood on the western edge of the city. Large brick colonial with a four-car garage, two stories, and an oversized mahogany front door. His wife, Trudy answered the door dressed in black Pilates pants and an orange fitted short sleeved shirt. She scanned me and my pregnant belly. Lula in her bustier. And then she saw Ramon. Taking in every last inch of his 5'9" with great detail.

"I'm looking for Jimmy," I told her to get her attention again.

"Take a ticket. We're _all_ looking for him."

"Does that mean he isn't here?"

"Last I saw him was at breakfast on Friday." Eyes back to Ramon. "I went to my Pilates class, and he was gone when I came back."

"Did you report it to the police?"

"No. I didn't see much point to it. It's not like he was kidnapped. He left me a note reminding me to take the garbage out on Monday and Thursday. Haven't heard from him since."

"You don't seem upset."

"The house is paid off, and it's in my name. And he left the dog and the Mercedes." She checked her watch. "I need to run. I'm late for Pilates. Unless the handsome quiet one behind you has any specific questions for me."

I gave her my card and called Connie. Told her what Judy had said. "Did you check on his dealership? Has he been going to work?"

"One of them was shut down. I spoke to the managers of the remaining two, and no one's seen him since his arrest. I guess he talked to them on the phone a few times. But not since he disappeared."

"His file said he had two kids. Could you send me their addresses?"

"Sure thing."

We visited Polettli's older son first and talked to his daughter-in-law. She said her husband wasn't on speaking terms with his father even before he was arrested. It was starting to sound like Poletti wasn't a likeable guy. Go figure, right? Kid number two lived in an apartment in Hamilton township. Oswald Poletti was twenty-two, single, and worked as a fry cook at Fran's Fish House on route 31. He reeked of weed when he answered the door. I asked him if he knew where his dad was. He said the man was a dick and that he'd probably be in Mexico. Poletti's mother lived in the Burg, which might have helped if her heart hadn't recently given out. I was batting zero. I took Lula back to the office and Ramon and I went to my mother's house to mooch lunch. I took a seat at the small kitchen table and dropped my bag to the floor.

"Are you after Jimmy Poletti?" Grandma asked me. "I heard he skipped out on this bail bond."

"I talked to his wife and both his sons. No one seems to like him or know where he's hiding."

"Yeah, he's a real stinker. His own mother didn't even like him."

"I tried to talk to her too, but she's dead."

"I heard. Rose Krabchek called an hour ago. Mrs. Poletti is going to be laid out at the funeral home on Hamilton. It's going to be a good viewing. She's high-profile now that her son is a fugitive."

"Any gossip going around about Jimmy?"

"Haven't heard anything that would be useful. He had a house at the shore, but I'm told it washed away with the last hurricane. I saw pictures, and the beach isn't even there. What happens with that? Does he own part of the ocean?"

My mother put plates and paper napkins on the kitchen table. "Who wants a meatloaf sandwich?"

I raised my hand. "With lots of ketchup."

"And chips," Grandma said. "I want one with chips and a pickle."

My mother looked expectantly at Ramon where he still stood at parade rest by the kitchen door. Ramon cut a look to me, not sure where the lines of protocol were. Truth was, my detail involved a lot of sitting and even more eating. I suspected the only reason Ranger rotated the guys so often was so none of them got soft. I gestured to my father's empty seat and he relaxed. Sent my mom a smile. "Thank you, ma'am. I'll have the same."

"Ranger always sends such polite young men with you," Grandma said. "And so handsome. You're real lucky you get to work with so many hot men."

My mother rolled her eyes. "I can't believe Ranger still hasn't pushed you to go on maternity leave. You shouldn't be chasing felons in your condition."

"I'm not chasing felons. I'm just tracking them down. Chasing them is Ramon's job today."

"Are you saying you're _never_ in any danger?" she asked pointedly, eyes on Ramon. She wanted him to answer.

His smile was easy as always. "If your daughter was in danger, ma'am, I'd loose my job. I'm not saying it's easy, but I'd never let anything happen to her."

"I like this one," Grandma said. "Most of 'em don't say a word and we just got two whole sentences."


	49. Chapter 49

AU of Top Secret 21, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Forty-Nine

Since Poletti's family hated him I figured it would be a smart next step to run him through some of Rangeman's heavy duty search programs. The ones I used to have on my laptop were good, but Ranger's were better. Ranger's programs could tell me how many parking tickets he'd had in his life and the date of his last prostate exam. I was just getting into the car to drive home to Rangeman when my phone rang. I got an instant sharp pain behind my eye when I saw the name. Randy Briggs. The three-foot-tall-pain-in-the-ass. "What do you want?"

"Boy, how's that for a greeting. Didn't your mother ever teach you phone manners?"

"She taught me not to associate with people who drive me nuts."

"How come you're not at your apartment?"

"Because it's lunchtime on a Monday. I'm working."

"How, aren't you half a planet by now?"

"I'm hanging up."

"No jeez wait, I'm sorry I take it back. I'm sure you're resplendent with glowing radiance. Please."

"How do you know I'm not at my apartment?"

"Because I'm standing at your door and you're not answering. Could you please just come home already, I need to talk to you."

Cripes. Randy Briggs was like a bad penny. No matter how hard you tried to get rid of him he always turned back up. I was only around the corner, so I told him not to touch anything and turned toward my apartment building, trying not to press a finger to my eye. Randy was sitting on my doormat with a duffle bag when we showed up. "This better be good."

"Boy, it's like you're not even happy to see me. It's because I'm short, right? You hate me because I'm short."

"I don't care that you're short. I like lots of things that are short. Little dogs and daffodils. I hate you because you're mean as a snake. Would it kill you to be nice?"

He turned cagey. "Why do you say that? Did you hear something?"

"About what?"

"About killing. Like that someone wants to kill me."

"So far as I know, everyone who meets you wants to kill you."

"I'm serious. Did you hear about a contract?"

"On you?"

"Yeah. I'm in trouble. Look, could we go inside? Please?"

I indulged in a heavy sigh so that he would know he was a trial and unlocked my apartment door. Pushed it open for him. Ramon moved forward too to check that the place was Stephanie approved and Briggs went still like he hadn't noticed him. Ramon did a quick sweep and we all moved into the kitchen.

I hadn't been in my apartment since Dillon finished renovating. It looked nice. Aside from the lack of furniture you couldn't tell there'd been a fire at all. I'd lost everything but my bedroom set when Ranger's old Army buddy sent a homemade rocket through my apartment window. I'd been living with Ranger ever since and hadn't put much thought into replacing any of it. In fact, I hadn't really thought about the apartment much at all. Huh. Weird.

Randy was just shy of alarm. "I'd ask if you were robbed, but I remember your stuff, it wasn't that nice."

"You wanted to come in. You're in."

"I could use a drink. You got any Vodka? Or some Pinot Noir?"

I gestured to my pregnant belly. "Do I look like I'd have Vodka?"

"You don't look like you've got anything. Look at this kitchen, it's empty. There's nothing in your fridge but a box of baking soda."

"I don't really live here anymore. I'm living with Ranger."

"I guess that makes sense, with the impending rug rat. Well, since you don't even have a beer, I'll just get right to it. I suppose you want to know about the contract."

"No."

"How could you not want to know?"

"Easy. Not my business."

"Yeah, but we're friends."

"I don't think so."

"Boy, that's harsh. After all we've been through together. Next thing you know you're not even gonna offer me a place to stay in my hour of need."

"I don't even like you."

"But I'm desperate! My apartment got blown up and I need to stay with somebody who has a gun. In fact it's kind of perfect that you're living with Ranger. He probably has a lot of guns."

"On no. No, no, no, no. Don't even think about it. You don't want me to bring you home to Ranger. Ranger would shoot you himself."

"I won't be any trouble. Look at me. I'm little. You won't even know I'm there."

"I'm starting to think you have a death wish."

"Well, what about here, can I stay here? Please, please, please. I don't want to die. Jimmy Poletti is trying to kill me."

That got my attention. "Jimmy Poletti?"

"Yeah, he looks nice on television but he's a nasty bugger."

"Why does he want to kill you?"

"I did his bookkeeping. I know all his secrets. The money laundering, the payoffs, the offshore accounts."

"He obviously hired you because he knew you were a slime bucket, so why does he suddenly think you're a threat?"

"When he got arrested, the cops were climbing all over everything. We managed to get rid of the paperwork, but I'm left swinging in the wind."

"He's worried you'd rat him out?"

"Yeah."

"Would you?"

"Hell yes."

"Have you gone to the police?"

"No. I'm sort of implicated in the cooked books. At first, my choice was to die or try a plea deal, but then I thought of you and your gang of Merry Men."

"They're Ranger's Merry Men. I just borrow them sometimes."

"Still. If you and your buddy here can bring Poletti in, he'll get locked up for a hundred years and he won't kill me. And I won't have to talk to the police."

"Okay, I'll buy that. But why do you want to stay here?"

"No one else will let me in."

"I'd buy that too."

"You gotta help me. I'm a dead man without you. You know what's left of my apartment? It's in that duffle bag in the hall. Good thing I was in the basement doing laundry when he rocketed the firebomb though my living room window. The guy's nuts!"

Nuts indeed. And he wanted Randy Briggs. And now I _had_ Randy Briggs. All I had to do was dangle him as bait and let Poletti come to me.

Randy got cagey again. "What? You've got that look. The scary look that means you're thinking."

"I might be willing to let you stay if you help me find Poletti."

"Anything. I can tell you all kinds of things about him. I know where he owns property, and I know some of his mob friends."

"Would his mob friends hide him?"

"Depends on if they thought they'd be able to get their hands on his money. He has a load of money stashed away."

"Do you know where the money is stashed?"

"Who, me? No."

"You do! That's why he wants to kill you."

"It's not like I have access to it. I just might know where he keeps it."

Oh boy. "What else?"

"That's it, I swear."

I pulled up the map on my phone and showed it to Briggs. "Where are his properties?"

"There's the three dealerships. You know about them. Then there's a parking garage where he keeps his inventory. It's by the government buildings. He rents part of it out. It's at the corner of State Street and Norton. So far as I know there aren't any offices in it. It's just parking. He has the house in West Trenton. I'm sure you've already been there and met his soulmate." Briggs gave an involuntary shudder. "She scared the crap out of me. They had a house at the shore, but it floated out to sea. He owns a slum on Stark Street that operates as a rooming house. And he owns houses in North Trenton that he rents out."

I marked all the locations on my map with little pins. Easy peasy. "And his friends?"

"He doesn't exactly have friends. He has _associates_. They all played poker together, and they hung out in the back room of the dealership on Route 41. It was like a social club. Bernie Scootch, Ron Siglowski, Buster Poletti, who's a cousin, Silvio Pepper, and Tommy Ritt. I'm told two of them have disappeared. Bernie Scootch and Ron Siglowski. They could be with Jimmy or they could be dead."

"Do you think Jimmy's cleaning house?"

Briggs shrugged. "He tried to get me while I was crossing the street yesterday. Tried to run me over, but I got out of the way in time. He took a shot at me and missed. And then this morning someone sent a firebomb through my window."

"Are you sure it was Jimmy?"

"It was Jimmy yesterday. I got a good look at him. I guess I don't know about this morning since I was in the basement, but he's got rocket launchers and flamethrowers. He has a place in the Pine Barrens where he goes with the guys to shoot and blow stuff up. I don't know where exactly. I was never invited."

"Shocker. What was he driving yesterday?"

"The Mustang. I rode in it once. It's all tricked out. Black and silver. Real sweet ride."

"So where do you think I should start looking for Jimmy?"

"If all he wanted to do was hide I'd say the Pine Barrens, but since he seems intent to kill me he's probably still local. Maybe the slum on Stark, or an RV in the parking garage."

"Okay. Let's go then."

"What do you mean let's go? I thought you said I could stay here."

I might have been willing to let him sleep there since I wasn't really using the place, but I didn't like the idea of leaving him to his own devices. That seemed a lot like letting a feral dog have free run of your apartment without making sure it was housebroken. "You can stay at the office while we go look for Poletti. I'll drop you off when I pick up Lula."

ooo

Connie refused to keep Briggs, so I was stuck taking him with me. Lucky for me the fancy Mercedes Benz that Ranger gave me wasn't just bulletproof and armor plated, it had tinted privacy windows. Nobody would be able to see Briggs from the outside. I took State Street to the parking garage Jimmy owned and idled at the entrance. There was a lot of police activity on the second level. I got myself a ticket and parked in a spot on the ground floor. "Stay here," I said to Briggs and Lula. "I'll go investigate and report back."

I took the stairs with my Ramon shaped shadow and walked to the back of the garage. Cop cars were parked at angles, blocking the scene, but I could see the yellow police tape was already up. I also spotted Joe Morelli. That wasn't a good sign. Joe mostly worked homicides. Which meant the focus of the police activity wasn't likely to still be breathing.

Joe was in a pale blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, his Glock clipped to his belt over his jeans and running shoes. Hands on hips as he stared down at the guy sprawled out on the pavement. I ducked the crime scene tape and stood next to him. "Eew. He has a hole in the back of his head the size of a potato. What was he shot with, a canon?"

"That's the exit wound. Whoever killed him flipped him over. Half his brain is splattered on the silver Honda over there."

"I think I'm gonna be sick."

Morelli grinned and looked me over. "You're such a cupcake."

"Who is he?"

"Tommy Ritt."

"Oh boy. He's one of Jimmy Poletti's poker buddies."

"And you're after Poletti?" he said, cutting his eyes to the parameter. "What giant man beast do you have with you today?"

"Ramon."

"He's not as big as Hal."

No. Ramon was 5'9" and built like a running back. Hal was built like a stegosaurus. "Not a lot of people are as big as Hal. Poletti owns this property. I was hoping to find him holed up in a Winnebago."

"Sorry, I haven't seen a Winnebago." He turned his attention to me. "Mike Kelly said he saw you with Ranger last night. Some big deal takedown."

"You're not gonna ask about the And too, are you?"

"The what?"

"Nevermind. Ranger had me acting as the lookout when he took down Emilio Gardi. It all happened according to plan and no shots were fired."

"And that doesn't strike you as odd that Ranger's asking his pregnant girlfriend on a job this close to third trimester?"

"All I did was sit at the bar and drink a soda," I said, staring at him. "That's the first time you've called me his girlfriend."

Morelli made a nonverbal signal to one of the officers and ducked under the police tape. Held it for me so I could do the same and walked with me toward the stairwell. "The offer still stands if you wanted to run away with me. If living with him is anything like it was when you were living with me you're probably just shy of throwing stuff at his head by now. But I'm also practical enough to admit the facts, and whether I like it or not you and him have been a thing for half a year now. Without doing the on again off again we used to do. It keeps going this way, I'm gonna have to face that Ranger was right and I'm not ever getting you back."

That made me sad in a way. But I was pretty sure it was more for Joe than it was because of him. Of the two men in my life, Joe had always been the more fragile. He deserved to be happy. Happier, at least, than he'd ever been with me. "You shouldn't want me back anyway. I used to drive you crazy. I had an impossible job that gave you heartburn, and you'd have little heart attacks when I'd carried a gun."

"Yeah, but you were also fun to hang out with. We liked all the same things. And then there was the wild gorilla sex."

"You mostly miss the part about the gorilla sex."

"It's more than that. But yeah, I definitely miss that part too."

"Randy Briggs showed up on my doorstep this morning," I said.

"At Rangeman?"

"No, my apartment. He claims Poletti tried to run him down with his Mustang and took a shot at him. And then someone shot a firebomb into his apartment."

"I heard about the apartment. I didn't know it belonged to Briggs. What's his connection to Poletti?"

"He was Poletti's accountant."

"Ow. Not a healthy job choice. Did Briggs stop by to tell you he was on his way to Argentina?"

"Something like that. I don't suppose you have any idea where I might find Poletti?"

"Not at the moment, but I'll let you know if something turns up. We'll be looking for him too. He's a person of interest in this shooting."

"He's driving a tricked-out black and silver Mustang. And he's probably packing a rocket launcher."

"I'll keep an eye out for that. I am a little surprised that you still have the apartment. Why are you paying for an apartment you're not using?"

"Ranger's paying for it."

That surprised him even more. "Since when?"

"Since we found out I was pregnant? He insisted. He said the relationship stuff on the table was all my choice, but financial support was non-negotiable."

"Huh. So how hard is he pressuring you to give it up, since he's paying for an empty nest?"

"Actually, he hasn't said a word." Which was another thing I hadn't really thought about until now. "It's just as well. Briggs is staying there for a day or two."

"You hate Briggs."

"I don't hate him. I just find him enormously annoying. Poletti exploded his apartment. He needed a place to stay. I happened to have an empty apartment."

I could tell by the smile Morelli's cop brain was very good at addition. "You're using Briggs as bait to get Poletti."

"I'd rather think of my generosity as a charitable act."

"Well, if he gets annoying enough that you're feeling less charitable I'm sure I could find something to arrest him on. Or you could let Ranger shoot him. I'm sure he'd love the opportunity to shoot someone."

"Ha ha."

A cop on the other side of the garage yelled for Morelli. Morelli kissed the top of my head and left me to walk up on my own. Ramon wasn't far behind me. He'd hung back to give us some space, but now that Morelli was gone he took the spot at my back again. "I'm not sure I could be that friendly with my ex."

"Morelli's a good guy, and a good cop."

"No doubt. I'm just saying, you're a better person than me."

We took the stairs to the ground level and walked back to my Mercedes.

The slums Poletti owned on the lower end of Stark Street lived up to their reputation. Covered in gang graffiti and drugged out stoop sitters. Likely hosted ten times as many rats as it did people. Ramon insisted on going in alone. Normally I might take umbrage to being cut out of the action, but I'd gotten pretty used to this as a part of procedure. Ranger's guys really only let me go sketchy places if they were in a team. That way one could stay with me and the other could handle danger. Plus, Ramon going alone meant I could stay and guard the car and I didn't have to take any stairs. Seemed like a win win.

I distributed snacks out of the glove compartment and Lula, Briggs and I sat there watching the building while we munched on cookies and cheesy crackers. Several shady individuals eyed the Mercedes as they passed by, but that was it. Cars this nice on this part of Stark were almost always owned by bigtime drug dealers. Not the kind of people you messed with. We'd been waiting about twenty minutes when a shotgun blast went off in the building. I was just starting to worry when I saw Ramon skipping down the front steps. He slid into the passenger seat and started buckling. "No sign of Poletti."

"What about the shotgun blast?"

"Misunderstanding. Tatted up guy thought I worked for a dealer named Jiggy. I politely planted his face on the ground and explained my position."

"Jeez. Maybe we should have called you some backup."

"Naw. Wasn't a thing. He was even nice enough to tell me who else lived on his floor, which apparently includes about forty Guatemalans and a pack of feral Chihuahuas."

Lula snorted. "Feral Chihuahuas? Oh yeah, that sounds terrifying."

Ramon flashed her an ominous look. "The man said they were nasty. That they'd eat you alive."

I rolled my eyes at him and he grinned.

We tried Poletti's rental properties in North Trenton next. Briggs thought since they were bought through an investment company Poletti might not even know about them, let alone be there, but the no-stone-unturned philosophy was about all I had to go on at the moment so we did a quick drive-by. When we yielded nothing I figured we should call it a day and took Lula back to the bonds office.

"So, what's for dinner," Briggs asked me.

"I was going to go home for dinner. I can drop you off at the apartment on my way."

"But there isn't any food at the apartment."

"So go food shopping."

"My money and credit cards got blown up."

"That sounds like a personal problem."

"Boy, that's cold."

It was also a stretch. Briggs might not be my favorite person, but I wasn't heartless. "Tell you what. You tell me what our next move is and maybe I'll drive through someplace for you."

"Or you could take me to the market and pick up a steak and a nice bottle of wine."

"Don't push it."

"Fine. I guess we could check out the poker players. Of course, one's dead and two are missing, but last I heard Buster was still around."

"The cousin?"  
"Yeah. He was tight with Jimmy. He was the guy Jimmy trusted to go to Mexico to solve labor issues."

"You mean with the cars?"

"I don't know, I didn't ask questions. I just tapped in Buster's travel expenses. Hotels and planes and stuff. I came to the dealership on Broad twice a week and cooked the books. It didn't seem like such a big deal. Everyone hates the IRS, right?"

"Do you know where Buster lives?"

"Downtown Trenton. I don't know exactly where. His wife kicked him out of the house and took out a restraining order, so now he lives in an apartment over a pizza place. I think he owns the building."

That sounded like a decent lead. Might even get pizza out of it. I looked at the time. Too late to call Connie, but I figured Ranger might be back from his security walkthrough. I hit him on speed dial. "Babe," he said in greeting.

"Are you home? I need an address."

"Not yet. We started late because somebody screwed up with Tank's security clearance. Call Gibbons at the control desk. He'll be able to get what you need. How's the Poletti hunt going? I hear his friends are dropping dead."

"How'd you hear that? I didn't see Ramon make any reports."

"Control caught it on the police scanner. Be careful. Men who make a living stripping the humanity away from people for profit don't hold to many moral lines. That includes shooting at a pregnant lady."

"I'll be careful. Everything still set for Gardi's flight?"

"Yep. Just three more hours and he's out of our hair."

I said goodbye and got another Babe in return. The Ranger version of I love you. Still gave me warm fuzzies.

I called Gibbons and got an address on the third block of Stark.

We slowed when we approached the pizza place. It was crowded. A group of guys standing out front smoking whatever, looking like they were either hard or trying to look hard.

"This pizza place is a dump," Briggs said, "but it's full of people."

"My guess is it's either really good, or it's super cheap and comes with a side of weed."

Briggs pressed his nose to the glass. "I swear I can smell it! Oh man, would I love a piece of pizza! We should check it out. You want to talk to Buster anyway, right?"

Right. But now that Briggs was drooling I also really wanted a slice of pizza. Usually when it came to food, the pregnant lady got what the pregnant lady wanted. I parked across the street from Buster's building. Briggs, Ramon and I got out and fit ourselves into the crowd lined up at the counter. There weren't any tables or anything. Strictly to go. But it did smell incredible. The perfect balance of greasy and cheesy. Real Jersey pizza.

Five minutes later we were leaning against the Mercedes while we ate, watching Buster's building. The pizza place took up the entire first floor, with the exception of a door on the end. Probably led to the apartment on the second floor. I'd been watching the apartment windows carefully. None of the shades were drawn, and I hadn't seen any signs of life. I finished my pizza and wiped my hands. "I'm thinking we should just knock on his door."

"Suppose no one answer?" Briggs said.

"I'll call his phone."

"What if he doesn't answer his phone?"

"Then I'll write him a letter. Jeez, are we doing this or not?"

Briggs didn't make any further protests. I made sure I had my pepper spray and my stun gun and started for the building, Ramon a couple steps behind me. We crossed the street and I reached for the bell when I heard someone thundering down the stairs. The door yanked open and a guy bowled into me. Tipping me off balance. Ramon caught me against his chest, arms round my middle to protect me. The guy looked at me and Ramon, then he looked down at Briggs and his face flushed.

"You son of a bitch," Briggs yelled at him. "You blew up my apartment. What the fuck is the matter with you?"

"Jimmy Poletti?" I said.

Poletti looked at me again, clearly confused by the belly, but after a second look at Ramon his brain caught up with him and he took off. Ramon set me on my feet and made sure I was steady before he took off after him. Fast as a running back and twice as determined. Poletti took his lead down Stark and into an alley, the rattle of scattered trash cans rumbling in his path. A door slammed and Ramon swore. Running my way again. Poletti popped out of a door on the other side of the building a second later and went for a car. It wasn't the Mustang. It was a silver sedan. There was no way I could grab him, so I pulled out my phone hoping to catch the license plate. He pulled away too fast for me to get a decent shot. Ramon hit the street the same time as Poletti, just in time to see him drive away. The tail lights were gone so fast there wasn't a point in pursuit.

Ramon wasn't breathing hard when he came to my side again, but I could tell he wanted to.

"Now what?" Briggs wanted to know.

"I think we should go upstairs and look around," I said.

"Is that legal?"

"It is if I have reason to believe my skip is up there."

Briggs cut me a dubious look. "Do you?"

"Not even a little bit."

We went inside anyway. Ramon and his gun in the lead. I announced myself at the top of the stairs, but no one answered back. It was eerily silent. Ramon led the way into the apartment. It was pretty nice, and obviously lived in. Food in the refrigerator, dishes in the sink.

Ramon called out to me and we moved to the bedroom. Found a guy stretched out on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. Oh boy. "Is it Buster?" I asked Briggs.

"No. It's Bernie Scootch. He doesn't look good. Is he okay?"

Bernie was definitely not okay, if the pool of blood was any indication. Then there was the fact his chest had a bunch of bullet holes in it. I had to take a step back just so my pizza would stay on the inside. "I'm pretty sure he's dead."

"Oh jeez," Briggs said. "That's bad. That sucks."

I dialed 911 and gave the dispatcher the address and the big picture. Then I called Morelli. Five minutes later, Bernie Scootch had better company and I was outside with Morelli telling him what I knew, like that Bernie Scootch had been shot… a lot. He went up and had a look. Came back a couple minutes later. "You're right. He's been shot a lot. I know I'm gonna be sorry asking, but you didn't shoot him, did you?"

"Of course not. I'm not carrying a gun."

"And what about your man in black?"

"He didn't do it either. And before you ask, Briggs' gun burned up with his apartment."

"What about Buster?"

"I didn't see Buster, and I also haven't seen the murder weapon. It wasn't near the body, and Poletti didn't have it on him."

"You're sure he wasn't carrying?"

"He was wearing a shirt tucked into slacks and there was no gun. Plus he didn't try to shoot Briggs."

"Missed opportunities."

Morelli promised to pass the information on to Bryan Kreider, who would be primary on Scootch's case, and then he let me go. I crossed the street to where Briggs was waiting with Ramon by the Mercedes. Briggs was on edge. "Did you hear them?"

"Who?"

"The dogs," he whispered to me. "The Chihuahua pack. I heard them yipping. Like tiny coyotes. And at the end of the block I saw a tiny shadow with glowing red eyes. It was eerie. It gave me goosebumps."

I rolled my eyes and looked to Ramon. He was fighting a smile. He thought he was hilarious.

A phone buzzed among us. Not mine. Ramon checked his. Then the smile dropped off his face, replaced by a whole lot of Oh shit. He looked up at me and my heart stopped. "It's a company wide alert. Rangeman just went Code Black."


	50. Chapter 50

AU of Top Secret 21, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Fifty

I was in the car before Ramon or Briggs. Fighting my seatbelt with shaking hands. Buckling with the belly had been getting harder over the last month, but now I was cursing the stupid strap out loud, twisting for all I was worth trying and get it buckled. Ramon grabbed onto it and clicked it in place. I shot him a grateful look. Threw the Mercedes in gear and hit Ranger on speed dial.

He didn't answer.

"What's a Code Black?" I asked Ramon.

Ramon measured me like he regretted he wasn't driving. "Hard to say."

"Spill it or I really will freak out on you."

Yep. He definitely wished he was driving. "Code Black is a total shutdown and evacuation event. Fucking doomsday."

"Bomb?" I squeaked.

"Or an infectious outbreak. Or a contaminant. Ranger would want me to keep you away."

I dial Ranger again.

"Maybe you should pull over and let me—"

"Unless you want to deal with a jumble of panic and pregnancy hormones, you will not finish that sentence."

Ramon, ever the wise man, bit his tongue.

It only took us six minutes to get across town and onto Haywood, but I couldn't get any closer. The street was blocked by a mix of Rangeman vehicles and emergency personnel. A pair of ambulances were parked closest to the building's front entrance. People in hazmat suits wheeled out a person in a giant containment bubble and headed for a waiting ambulance.

Oh god. They had hazmat suits. What the hell did that mean?

The elevator opened into the lobby again, letting out another gurney. This time a familiar figure in black kept pace with it. I nearly burst into tears when I saw him. I bailed out of the Mercedes and heard Ramon swear. "Steph, wait!"

I could hear Ramon behind me. Saw the uniforms pause when I passed like they wanted to stop me too. But I couldn't take my eyes off of Ranger. He saw me when I was halfway through the chaos. The blank face slipped just a little. Not enough that anyone else would have notice. He excused himself from the medic he was speaking to and stepped away, catching me when I jumped on him like a spider monkey. "Babe, you shouldn't be here."

"What happened? What the fuck is a Code Black?"

"I don't have time to explain, but the building's been evacuated and quarantined."

"Chemical?"

"Radiation."

"Omigod, are you—"

"I wasn't inside when it happened."

"Did everyone make it out okay?"

"Gardi and Bruce McCready were at the center of it. We called in containment units to ferry them to the hospital. Everyone else made it out safely."

I let out a breath of relief, but it was short lived. "Rex!"

"Ella has him," he said, brushing my hair back so that he could look in my eyes. "Steph, I have a lot to do and no time. You need to stay at your apartment tonight, you'll be safe there."

"I want to stay with you."

"As much as I would love that, it's not practical. I'm not on solid ground right now. Knowing you're out of harm's way will free up a considerable amount of my focus."

That made sense, it really did. But I didn't think it was a solution that would do much for _my_ focus. I cut my eyes around the chaos, hoping for a reason he should change his mind. Saw something else instead. "What's Special Agent Carson doing here?"

Ranger followed my eye line. "Fuck. Hospital must have reported the incident. I was hoping to avoid FBI involvement. My luck, Homeland will be here by morning." His eyes held mine again. "Babe, I've gotta go. I'll find you when I've stopped the hemorrhaging." He kissed me with a lot of meaning and cut his eyes over my shoulder. It was the only reason I knew Ramon was standing behind me. Then Ranger turn back to the chaos. Giving orders like he had complete control.

I could only hope to god that he did.

ooo

The ten minutes it took for Ramon to drive us from the Rangeman building to my apartment felt much longer and emptier than it ever had before. And strange. It still felt like going home. But sort of detached, like when I went home to my parents' house. They were familiar places, comfortable in a way that would always be home. But they weren't were my heart was. I'd left that back at Rangeman.

Ramon let us into my apartment to do his bodyguard thing and I was left to ghost in behind him. It wasn't until I'd crossed the entry that I realized something was different. Briggs paused too. "Holy moly. Do you have a fairy godmother or something?"

I was used to Ella being the fridge fairy, but this was a whole other level. There was furniture in my living room. Nothing fancy, and nowhere near the coordinated interior designed perfection of the penthouse, but the lines were clean and modern. Comfortable. Couch and chairs. Coffee table. A flatscreen television. I turned the corner into my kitchen and found all the essentials, including pots, pans, a coffee maker, and the toaster that I'd never had.

And sitting on the counter beside the toaster was Rex's aquarium.

I'd swear on the bible that it was the pregnancy hormones that made me break down. But under the denial I knew better. I'd had apartment fires before. I'd been blown out by rockets. I'd been homeless and floating with nowhere to go. And each incident had brought with it a sense of shock and loss and failure that brought me to tears. And yet this was so much worse. I reached into the glass case and picked up Rex's soup can to hold it close to my chest, the stupid tears turning to sobs.

"Oh jeez. What's with the waterworks?" Briggs said. "It's just a rat."

"He's not a rat, he's a hamster!" I balled.

"Oh man. Oh jeez. I didn't sign up for this." Briggs looked up at Ramon. "Do something!"

To Ramon's credit, he didn't grimace or run away. It might have helped that of all Ranger's guys, Ramon and Hal were the closest I had to friends. Ramon opened the fridge and came to my side. Offered a grape to Rex where he huddled in his soup can. I watched Rex chow down, Ramon's hand squeezing my shoulder. "I saw a cheesecake in the fridge."

I looked at him with watery eyes and hiccupped. "Really?"

"Swear to god. And if that doesn't help, I know where an all night grocery store is."

Ramon was a quick learner too.

ooo

I didn't sleep well that night. Not even after half a cheesecake and an order of garlic chicken from the Chinese place on the corner. I'd stayed awake until three waiting for Ranger to show up and rest my worries. Woke up to streaming sunshine and an empty bed. Heart aching in my chest.

I tried calling him, rubbing my belly, but the call went straight to voicemail. Ranger never let his phone die unless there were extenuating circumstances, like going for an unexpected swim in the Delaware. Likely meant he was already on an important call. Got a text a second later. _Patience._

Only a slight consolation that I knew he was okay.

It was a little after nine when I got to the office, Briggs and Ramon in tow. Lula looked me over like she wasn't impressed. "You look like crap," she said to me. "I'd guess you either had a really bad night or a really good one, but you been havin' mostly good nights last few months and ain't none of 'em make you look like that."

"I woulda had a bad night too if I were in her shoes," Connie said. "Her night was probably as bad as Ranger's."

"Why, what's up with Ranger?"

Connie's eyebrows went up. "You didn't hear? His building is sealed off. I don't know the details, but I do know they had to evacuate. Gardi and one of the Rangeman guys are in the hospital. It's all a big secret, no one's saying anything."

Both Lula and Connie turned expectant eyes to me. I went with a shrug, since anything more was libel to trigger the tears again.

"I bet it was anthrax," Briggs said. "It's always anthrax when they seal off a building."

"It wasn't anthrax," I told him. "Ranger said it was radiation."

"He didn't tell you any more than that?" Lula asked. I shook my head. "Huh. He might be a real hotshot in bed, but he sure don't waste a whole lotta words explaining things. That's gotta be real frustrating."

At the moment it was more scary than frustrating. "He has a lot to deal with."

My phone rang and I saw Morelli's face on the display. I stepped outside to answer it.

"I just heard about Rangeman," Joe said. "Are you alright?"

"Yes. I was across town when it happened."

"Thank god for that. I haven't been briefed on what went down, but it must have been serious if the building was sealed and the feds are in charge. Gardi is in St. Francis in isolation with a security guard in front of his door."

"Did they say anything about Ranger's guy, Bruce McCready? He was at the center of whatever happened along with Gardi."

"Not that I heard, but I'm not really in the loop yet. Did you stay at your parent's place last night?"

"No, I stayed at the apartment. I was hoping Ranger would meet me there, but I haven't heard more than one word from him since last night."

"Not surprising. He'd be in crisis mode. Probably hasn't come up for air yet."

"It's making me crazy. I don't like being on the outside of this, not knowing what's going on. Wishing I could help."

"Welcome to _my_ world. This is what it was like living with you when your life went haywire. Before long you're gonna start understanding why I always offered to chain you to the radiator in my basement."

"How did you deal with it? This is awful."

"If I'm being honest, the only reason I still have stomach lining is because of Ranger. He might be crazy and a loose cannon, but he was made for shit like this. He'll be okay. Sometimes all you can do is have faith and keep moving. Focus on something else so the worry doesn't eat at you."

I pulled in a deep breath, and let it out all at once. Praying I could find the headspace to focus. "Anything new on the two murders? Did Buster ever turn up?"

"Buster came home at ten o'clock. He said he'd been in Atlantic City all day. One of those package deals with a bus trip included. He went with his girlfriend. It checked out."

"How did Jimmy get into his apartment?"

"Jimmy had a key. Buster gave it to him years ago when he first bought the building. Said they were using the apartment like a storeroom, but I'm guessing it was used to house the girls they imported."

"Did you find the murder weapon?"

"No. Not yet."

That was a problem, and a pretty good indicator that Jimmy didn't pull the trigger. I've seen more than my share of crime scenes and violent deaths. I could tell at first sight that Bernie hadn't been dead long, and that he'd been killed in the bedroom. If the police hadn't found the gun on scene, it was a fair bet it had walked away with the murderer. "Have you talked to the remaining poker players?" I asked Joe.

"Kreider questioned Silvio Pepper. He said Pepper was nervous. We can't find Siglowski. Kreider interviewed his neighbors and got nothing. Ditto on his relatives."

"I get why Pepper would be nervous. I'd be nervous too. Somebody's cleaning house. Most likely Siglowski is already dead, and just hasn't turned up yet. That leaves Pepper and Briggs."

"Is Briggs still hiding out in your apartment?"

"Yes."

"That's gotta be fun."

"Yep. It's a real barrel of laughs. Last night we played Pretty Pretty Princess and braided each others hair."

I could hear Morelli's grin. "Maybe we should tie him to a parking meter downtown and see if Poletti takes the bait."

"If I thought Poletti would be that stupid I might take you up on it."

"I gotta run. Let me know if you come up with anything better than the parking meter."

"I've got you on speed dial."

I heard him laugh and actually managed a smile when I hung up. Feeling better despite myself. I went back inside. "Can you run background checks on Silvio Pepper and Ron Siglowski?" I asked Connie.

"Sure. If you make a donut run I could have them both ready for you when you get back."

"Deal."

ooo

Silvio Pepper owned a long-haul trucking company with offices on Broad Street. That seemed like the best place to start. I was expecting to see a fleet of eighteen wheelers when we drove up, but all I saw was a little single story redbrick building and a small parking lot. Operations offices. Must have kept the trucks elsewhere.

I parked in the small lot and told Lula and Briggs to stay in the car.

"Why do I have to wait in the car?" Lula asked. "Waiting in the car is boring."

"I don't want to drag everyone in there with me," I told her. "Two people are partners. Four is a parade."

"So how come Zorro gets to go and I have to stay here with short stuff?"

"Because Zorro has to deal with Ranger if I come to harm in his absence."

"Yeah, I could see that being a problem. How about just three then? We could leave Briggs in the car and crack a window."

"Jeez. What do I look like, a golden retriever?" Briggs said.

"Naw. More like one of them grunty little bulldogs. The drooley ones."

"At least I'm not a big fat Saint Bernard."

"Saint Bernards got a nice, fluffy, beautiful coat. I take that as a compliment."

I rolled my eyes and got out of the car before I was subjected to any more. I'm not sure they even noticed. I slung my messenger bag over my shoulder and crossed the lot. The woman at the front desk looked to be in her forties. Overworked, overfed, and underpaid. "I'd like to talk to Silvio," I told her.

She punched the intercom button like she couldn't care less. "There's a woman here to see you," she said. She listened a second and then rolled her eyes. Looking over at me. "Who are you?"

"Stephanie Plum."

"Stephanie Plum," she repeated, taking no interest at all in investigating or explaining Ramon's presence. She hung up and cut a look down the hall. "Second door on the right."

Silvio Pepper wasn't quite as disinterested in Ramon as his receptionist. Trying to hide the warry. He was sixty-three. Looked just like his picture but with more wrinkles. And he wasn't in any way happy to see us.

I get that a lot.

"You're the bounty hunter, right? I guess you're looking for Jimmy."

"Do you know where he is?"

"No, but I know where he should be. The nuthouse. He's out there killing people because his life fell apart due to his own bad business decisions."

 _Bad business decisions_ was a pretty generous way to describe trading in human suffering. "So you think he's the one who killed Bernie and Tommy?"

"Who else would kill them?"

I shrugged.

"I think it's Jimmy," Silvio said. "I think he's afraid he'll get ratted out. We were all pretty close. Not that we were involved or anything, but we knew stuff."

I bet. "What about Buster? Was he in business with Jimmy?"

"I don't know exactly. Jimmy would send him on trips, and we figured it was business, but it could have been just to get cars."

"You're worried?"

"Wouldn't you be? Two of my best friends are dead. It's terrible. How does stuff like this happen?"

"Maybe you should disappear for a while, like Ron."

"Ron's retired. He can go wherever he wants. I got a company to run. I've got people depending on me."

"I don't suppose you know where Ron is?"

He shook his head. "He just took off. No goodbye or anything. I hate to say it out loud, but he could be dead too. He could have been the first one Jimmy took out."

I gave him my card, and Ramon and I headed back to the car, interrupting Lula and Briggs mid argument when I slid behind the wheel.

"Well?" Lula said. "How'd it go?"

"As expected. He knows nothing. He wasn't involved. He thinks Jimmy's gone postal."

"Do you think all that's true?"

"I don't think _any_ of it is true."

"I think the part about going postal is true," Briggs said.

I called Connie and asked her to do some snooping on Pepper Trucking. I wanted to know if he smelled as fishy on paper as he did in real life. I looked at Ron Siglowski's printout again. Seventy. Widowed, no children. Sold his insurance business five years ago and moved to a golf course community in Cranberry. His credit check didn't turn up any airline purchases or hotel bills. In fact, they didn't show any activity at all. Either he was being very careful, or he was dead. The latter seemed most likely.

Silvio Pepper's house was in the Burg, but I didn't know his wife Miriam personally. She was in her sixties. Sort of chubby, with short brown hair streaked silver. She answered the door in a fuzzy pink bathrobe with rosy cheeks and a drink in her hand that looked like Coke but smelled like hundred proof.

"You must be Stephanie Plum," she said. "Silvio called and said you might be stopping by. He said I shouldn't talk to you because goodness knows what I might say."

It wasn't even eleven o'clock yet and the woman was in her bathrobe, getting cozy with Jim Beam. That's the secrets goldmine.

"You seem like an intelligent woman," I told her. "I'm sure you wouldn't say anything inappropriate."

"Thank you. I'm very discreet."

"And that's a lovely pink bathrobe."

"Pink is my favorite color. It's a happy color."

"That's so true. And I can see you're a happy person."

"Especially when I have a little nip of something." She leaned closer, and waved me into her confidence, the hundred proof hitting me full in the face. "I'm an alcoholic," she stage whispered. "Would you or your gentleman friend like a Manhattan? I make an excellent Manhattan."

I put a hand on my obvious belly and gave it a rub. "Thanks, but no. My gentleman friend is on duty, and I'm pregnant."

"Oh dear, isn't that wonderful! You're a lucky man," she said to Ramon, ignoring his discomfort at the implication.

"Yes, we're very happy," I told her. "I wanted to ask you about Jimmy Poletti."

Miriam knocked back some of the Manhattan. "He's a pig."

"In what way?"

"He's a man, isn't that enough? No offense," she added for Ramon.

"I was hoping for more specifics."

"Well, there's his wife."

"Yes?"

"She's thin."

"I know, I've met her."

"How am I supposed to compete with that?"

"I'm sure Silvio loves you just the way you are."

"Who?"

"Silvio. Your husband?"

"Pfft. _Him_? All he thinks about is that trucking company. I've had it up to here with that trucking company."

"What sort of stuff does he haul?"

"He has a contract with a plant in Mexico that makes salsa and a plant in Newark that makes the containers. He carts the containers to Mexico and comes back with them full of salsa."

Ha! I knew it. Another Mexican connection. Silvio could pretend he wasn't in on it until he was blue in the face, I would have still known he was lying. "Does he ever haul anything other than salsa?"

"I only know about the salsa. I've got a garage filled with five gallon cans of the stuff. What the heck am I supposed to do with it all? I mean, do they pay him in salsa?"

"Did he ever haul anything for Jimmy?"

She stared at the empty whiskey glass. "It's empty. I hate when that happens."

"About Jimmy."

"Boy, I could use a cigarette," she said. "Do you have any cigarettes on you?"

"Again. Pregnant."

"Oh that's so wonderful! We really should celebrate. We should get cupcakes!"

That wasn't a bad thought.

I heard a car pull up behind us and cut a look to the driveway. Silvio. I gave Miriam my card. "Call me if you want to talk."

"Sure," she said, "but you have to bring the cupcakes."

We passed Silvio on the sidewalk. "Your wife is lovely," I said to him. "You're a lucky man."

"Yeah," he said. "Lucky me."

ooo

Now that I was out of goals, the anxiety was building again. Like the volume of worry had just been turned down. Lula suggested driving by Rangeman, and I wasn't about to pass on the chance to see for myself. We turned down Broad on our way to center city, but we were stopped from getting any further when we ran into orange cones and yellow crime scene tape. The entire block around Rangeman was cordoned off. An eighteen-wheeler mobile crime scene lab was parked in front of the building, plus a bunch of cop cars, and EMT truck, a fire truck, and a hazmat unit truck.

A uniformed cop from the sheriff's office was manning the barricade.

"What happened?" I asked him.

"There's a contaminant in one of the buildings here," he said. "No one's allowed on the street until the building checks out."

"How long is that going to be?"

The cop didn't know.

A helicopter beat at the air overheard. Local news. Rangeman was going to top the five o'clock hour. Ranger would hate that.

"I don't get how something could contaminate this building," Lula said. "This building is scary secure."

Lula didn't know the half of it. Rangeman was the most secure building I'd ever seen. State of the art surveillance, highly trained and armed staff in the lobby and throughout every floor. Ranger even told me once that the glass that surrounded the ground floor could take a hit from an armored truck and not shatter. How there'd been a radiation leak, I couldn't begin to guess, and not knowing had my stomach in so many knots I was queasy.

Ranger would have called me if he had a spare moment, but I was still getting radio silence.

I called Morelli.

"I'm idling at the barricade to Ranger's street," I said. "The whole street is blocked off, and there's an eighteen-wheeler crime scene lab parked here. I've never _seen_ and eighteen-wheeler crime scene lab. Do you know what's going on yet?"

"I can't talk now," Morelli said. "Meet me for lunch at Pino's. Twelve o'clock."


	51. Chapter 51

AU of Top Secret 21, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Fifty-One

I didn't want to drag Lula and Briggs to my lunch with Morelli, so I dropped Lula at the office and took Briggs to my parents' house. "Just in time for lunch," Grandma said when she opened the door.

"I can't stay," I told her, "but I was hoping I could leave Randy here."

"I suppose that would be okay," Grandma said. "How long do we have to keep him?"

"An hour or two."

"As long as you pick him up by three o'clock. Your mother has a dentist appointment, and I'm getting my hair done for the viewing tonight. It's going to be a good one, what with all the scandal. People are gonna be hoping for a show from Jimmy. The place'll be packed."

"I doubt Jimmy will make an appearance. I can't see him going to the funeral either. He'd be instantly arrested."

"Well, I'm going anyway. There's nothing on television but reruns."

"I'm going too. Even if Jimmy doesn't show, I'll still be able to talk to his family and friends. Do you need a ride?"

"Sure. You could come for dinner and we could go together. Your mother's making pot roast tonight, with chocolate cake for dessert."

"I _love_ pot roast and chocolate cake," Briggs said.

"I guess he could eat here too," Grandma said.

"You have to behave yourself," I warned him. "No growling, biting, or kicking."

"Yeah, we don't give out chocolate cake to biters," Grandma said.

"Jeez, you make me sound like an animal."

I looked down at him, hands on hips.

"Okay, okay. I might have done some of those things in the past, but they were justified. I gotta compensate for my size. It's not like I can punch a guy in the nose."

"He has a point," Grandma said.

Briggs smiled at the sudden ally. "You're all right for an old lady."

"I'm not so old. I got some good years left."

"I have to go," I said, heading for the door. "Put on the television for him, cartoons or something, but don't give him the remote or he'll sign up for porn."

"Those porn films have the best titles," Grandma said. "I wouldn't mind seeing some of them. I bought one once, but it was all naked girls and I wanted to see naked men."

ooo

Morelli

Morelli was already seated at a table when Steph walked into Pino's with Ramon. She spotted him from across the room and waved. Ramon took a seat at the bar rather than crowd his way into their booth. That surprised Morelli even more than when he'd hung back at the crime scene yesterday. If Morelli was paying some reformed Dominican gang member to guard the body of his pregnant girlfriend, he woulda made sure said gang member was standing firmly between her and her ex. Either Ranger really didn't see Joe as a threat, or he trusted Steph so completely that he didn't feel the need to hover. Considering Ranger wasn't anywhere near the trusting type and clearly had control issues, it said a hell of a lot.

Steph slid into the seat across from him and glanced over the menu she knew by heart. She looked good. Her crazy chocolate curls hung loose around her shoulders. Thicker and shinier than it had ever been before. One of the benefits of being pregnant. Her skin was glowing too. She was wearing a pair of stretchy front paneled maternity jeans under the tight black t-shirt. Showing off every inch of her baby bump and looking cute as hell because of it. She was still undeniably sexy. But in a different way than before. A way he couldn't quite explain.

She looked up at the server. "Meatball sub and a Coke."

The waitress looked at him. "Same for me." She took the menus and left them alone. "Did you leave Briggs locked in the car?"

"No. I dropped him off at my parent's house."

"I was afraid he'd be eating lunch with us."

"I wouldn't do that to you. Or me if I could help it. I'm starting to get extra motivated to find Poletti if only to get rid of Briggs."

"I'm working on it," he said, helping himself to a breadstick. "I have my own reasons for wanting to talk to Poletti."

"Any leads?"

He shook his head. "No, but his wife invited me to come back anytime."

"So it wasn't a total loss?"

This was said with a grin. Steph knew a serial user like Trudy Poletti wasn't anywhere near Joe's type. Used to be that, even knowing this, she'd still have a hint of jealous hiding in her eyes. Like she'd want to kill someone at the thought of him with another woman. This time there was nothing. Just the thread of constant worry she'd walked in with. She was thinking about Ranger.

"I was in a briefing about what went down at Rangeman when you called me this morning. Seems Gardi had some very bad stuff in his possession when Ranger took him into custody. Something he'd planned to use to take out Ranger and his whole operation. Something went wrong and Gardi took the hit by accident."

"Gardi was a setup?"

"Looks that way. I don't know the details. The feds aren't releasing any information on the contaminant, but Gardi and the Rangeman guy who was caught up in it are both in isolation and being treated for radiation poisoning. I talked to some of the first responders from last night. They said Gardi was screaming about polonium, begging for medical help."

"What's polonium?"

"I don't know exactly. I didn't have time to Google it, but I'm told it's the stuff some speculate killed Yassar Arafat. Supposedly it's not a nice death."

"That's creepy."

"Yeah. Doesn't really get much creepier than that."

The server brought their food and Steph dove right in. Taking a big bite while she digested the news. "This doesn't add up for me," she said at last. "As far as I could tell, Ranger and Gardi had never met prior to Gardi's arrest. Why was Gardi trying to take down Rangeman?"

"I imagine Gardi was working for someone. When it all went down, someone at Rangeman hit the big red button and the call simultaneously brought in the feds, hazmat team, and Trenton first responders."

She shook her head. "Ranger would have never called the feds in on purpose, that's the one thing I do know. Feds have a tendency to take over and freeze people out. Ranger said the hospital probably had to report the radiation protocols the same way they have to report gun shot wounds."

"Makes sense. And he's probably right. The feds didn't just take over. They've put a lid on any information coming from Gardi. I'm actually surprised you don't know more about this from Ranger."

"I spoke to him briefly at the scene last night, but he couldn't really talk. He's been radio silent ever since."

"I'm sure he's scrambling, trying to keep his business running without his control room." And knowing Ranger, he was probably out for blood from whoever sent the Trojan horse in the first place.

"How long do you think Rangeman will be under quarantine?" Steph asked him.

"No one's saying. This is the tightest security I've ever seen. Everyone's walking around with their asses clenched. It freaks people out that this could happen to someone as careful as Ranger."

"Ranger has a lot of enemies."

There was no pretense between them over what an understatement that was. Joe had known Ranger by reputation for a few years before Steph got mixed up with him. He was the kind of guy who never went anywhere unarmed and sat with his back to the wall to avoid surprises. The man was a stone cold nightmare who'd only recently come halfway out of the shadows. None of them wanted to see what kind of enemy would not only dare to face Ranger head on, but actually manage to get the drop on him in such a personal way.

Steph took another bite of her sub so she wouldn't have to dwell on the fear. "So, what happens next?"

"Well, I don't know about you, but I've got a shit load of paperwork to do. Then I wanted to take a walk around Buster's backyard. We still haven't found the murder weapon."

"I have a theory about that."

"I bet we have the same theory."

"I don't think Poletti's the killer."

"Yeah, it's worth throwing in the mix. He could have let himself into the apartment for whatever reason and found the guy dead. Left in a panic and ran into you on the way out. Question is, who else would have motive?"

"Or opportunity. Buster was in Atlantic City. Do you know who else might have had a key?"

"Lots of people, it turns out. Including Scootch."

"Did you talk to Miriam Pepper?"

"I did. She was completely hammered at one in the afternoon. And I got a better offer from her than I did Poletti's wife."

"Let me guess. She offered you a Manhattan."

"I was inches from taking it."

"Did she tell you Silvio Pepper's company makes regular runs to Mexico?"

"No, but it doesn't surprise me. It's looking like every one of them had one hand or the other in some business dealings in Mexico. Still trying to get hard evidence, though. All I have at the moment is circumstance and conjecture."

"Well. Let me know if you hear anything."

"Willdo."

ooo

Steph

I picked up Briggs from my mother's house, but I didn't have a game plan on how to move forward. I'd hit a dead end on finding Poletti. Briggs asked if we could drive by his apartment building to see if it was still wrapped up in police tape. When we got to the ugly redbrick building it was pretty obvious which apartment was his. There were soot stains above the plywood covered windows. "Did you want to go inside to look?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "I just wanted to see the building. No point going in. I talked to the insurance adjuster. He said there was nothing left."

"I'm sorry. I know how hard it is to lose all your stuff like that."

"You've had your place blown up a couple times. It must have been bad for you too."

"The first time it happened was the worst. I was really rattled. Nothing like that had ever happened to me before."

"Hard to believe. You're a magnet for disaster. I figured you were one of those kids who had their bike run over by the garbage truck."

"Only once. But it was never blown up."

Briggs nodded. "Yeah, there's something about getting your shit blown up that takes it to a whole new level. I can't even imagine what it must be like to have your ultra-secure building eradiated."

"It's not fun." Also on the not fun list? Knowing the man I loved was in crisis mode and not hearing from him for eighteen hours. It didn't seem to matter how capable I knew Ranger was. I was still worried. And I missed him. I gave myself an internal shake to try and clear my head. "We've exhausted all the ordinary routes for finding leads and came up empty. It might be time to get proactive."

"What does that mean exactly?"

"It means I take you down to Buster's building, parade you around as bait, and see who turns up to shoot you."

"Are you nuts? That's a terrible idea!"

"Do you have a better one?"

"How about we use Zorro as bait. He looks like he can take care of himself."

"Ramon isn't the one Poletti tried to run over with his car. We'll take precautions, I promise."

"Forgive me if I'm not filled with instant confidence."

"Do you have a better idea?"

Briggs opened his mouth to get snarky, but after a moment he shut it again. "Yeah, I got nothin'."

"Then I guess you're just going to have to trust me. And by me, I mean Ramon, because I'm not running Poletti down even if he does shoot you."

ooo

Briggs was only willing to get out of the car after I promised that Rangeman had very strict qualifying measures when it came to marksmanship and Ramon had showed him his gun. He was still white when he slid out and crossed the street. Clutching his phone as he paced the sidewalk like a carnival duck in a sharpshooter game.

"He looks like a plant," Ramon said. "Nobody's gonna shoot him when he's looking like that."

"We don't want him shot. We just want to drag Poletti out into the open."

"I guess that's one way to go."

I rolled my eyes at him and he smiled. "Maybe you should go back him up. Stay out of sight, but still within striking range."

"Ranger wouldn't like it if I left you alone."

"I'll stay in the bulletproof car, I swear."

Ramon weighed his options. He knew his job and bodily safety relied on my staying in one piece, and he definitely liked me way more than Briggs. But after a minute of insistent staring he gave in and angled out of the car. Vanished into the street like he belonged.

I watched Briggs for a half hour. Until a black SUV cruised down the street and stopped in front of Briggs, blocking my view. A second later there was a load of frantic shouts and the SUV's tires chirped before it squealed off down the street like it was on fire. I called Ramon. "What the heck was that?"

"Couple of bozos who reeked of weed. I think they just wanted to kidnap a midget."

"Did you scare the bejeezus out of them?"

"One of them might need a change of pants." Showoff. "You wanna try again?"

I checked the time. "Let's give it another hour. If Poletti hasn't shown by then we'll cut our loses for the day. I need to go to the mall anyway and pick up something to wear to the viewing tonight." I'd already used the change of clothes Ranger put in the go bag he insisted I keep in the back of the Mercedes. All of my other clothes are quarantined at Rangeman.

After forty-five minutes I was tired of sitting and Briggs was starting to attract resentful glances from people on the street, so we packed it in early and headed to Quarkerbridge Mall. I thought it would be pretty easy to just pick up a black skirt and white blouse combination. Little did I know. I tried on six different outfits and every last one of them made me look like a beached whale. Number seven was better. Black pencil skirt with a stretchy elastic waistline, a slinky white camisole top, and a black blazer. Complete the look with a new pair of black flats and I was ready to go.

Grandma was wearing shocking pink lipstick and a dress to match when we got to my parents' house. "You're right on time," she told us, opening the front door and motioning us inside. "We're having beer with the meal, but you could have a snort now if you need it."

"Sounds good," Briggs said. "I wouldn't mind a cocktail. What have you got?"

"We got whiskey," Grandma said. "I could fancy it up with ice, or you could take it like a man."

"Whatever," Briggs said.

"And you?" Grandma asked Ramon.

"No thank you, ma'am. I'm not allowed to drink when I'm on duty."

"You've been on duty since yesterday," I pointed out. "Don't you deserve a little downtime?"

"Not the way things are running. Everybody is pulling double shifts, and there's nobody to rotate me out. But that's okay. If I was gonna be stuck on a detail, this is the best one. None of the other guys are getting pot roast tonight."

"That's the spirit," Grandma said. She ran off to get the whiskey and we wandered into the living room. My father was in his chair, watching television and doing the Jumble. He looked up and saw my entourage. He wasn't all that surprised to see one of Ranger's guys. Then his eyes fell on Briggs. "Oh jeez. You again."

"It's always a delight to see you, sir," Briggs said with a smile.

"Boy, you really want that chocolate cake bad," I said to Briggs.

"Fuckin' A," Briggs said.

Grandma trotted in with a full sized tumbler of whiskey for Briggs. He looked at the glass. Looked at my father. And belted back half the whiskey. Choked and made a little wheezing sound, his eyes watering. "Good," he said. "Smooth."

Grandma and I helped my mother get the food to the table and we all took our seats. My father loaded his plate. Ramon had passed on the liquor, but he did take a beer. Having the occasional modest sip. Briggs had two beers and was starting to look a little glassy-eyed. "Are you okay?" I asked him.

"Mmmm," he said. "Mmmmarvelous."

"He's trashed," my father said.

"Guess he's not so good with liquor," Grandma said.

Considering he was only three feet tall, I thought he'd done okay. If I'd downed a water glass of hooch plus two beers I would have been either under the table or bent over a toilet.

My mother served the chocolate cake and Briggs tipped over the edge from woozy to comatose.

"Maybe we should get him to the couch and let him sleep it off," I said.

"No way in hell am I sharing my living room with him," my father said. "If you want him to keep breathing, you'll dump him someplace far away from my television."

"We could lay him out on the kitchen floor," Grandma said. "That way he won't mess anything up with his chocolate drooling. And if we put him behind the table, no one will step on him."

Ramon did the honors, dragging Briggs behind the kitchen table. Grandma put a rolled up kitchen towel under his head. I thought about cuffing him to the stove so he couldn't wander if he woke up, but I thought it was smarter to hold onto the cuffs, just in case Poletti did make an appearance at the viewing.

We were lucky enough to get the last spot in the small parking lot attached to the funeral home. Made our way inside. The place was indeed packed. Not the fullest I'd ever seen, but it was a respectable turnout. Grandma took a seat in the second row and we watched the procession of mourners while I listened and asked questions.

I spotted Buster Poletti and excused myself. Cornered him before he could slip away. "Stephanie Plum," I said, pushing a hand at him. "I've been wanting to talk to you."

"You're the bounty hunter who broke into my apartment and found Bernie."

"I didn't break in. The door was open."

"I heard you were with Jimmy's bookkeeper. You know, for a little guy he sure gets around."

"He's helping me find Jimmy."

"Whatever." His eyes dropped to my breasts, which were making a decent show in the slinky white camisole top due to the recent increase in cup size. "You're cuter than I expected. I bet you're good with handcuffs."

"I'm even better with a stun gun. And I've been known to shoot people on occasion."

"Stop. You're getting me excited. I'm getting a boner."

"I guess that's an accomplishment at your age."

"Jeez. You really know how to ruin a moment."

"I would have thought the fact I'm six months pregnant would have ruined the moment already."

"You're knocked up?" he said, looking beyond the cleavage. "Huh. How do you like that? I didn't even notice."

Boom. Can I pick an outfit or what? "Everyone thinks Jimmy killed Bernie Scootch."

"Everyone would be jumping to conclusions. I've known Jimmy my whole life, I don't see him killing someone."

"He tried to kill his bookkeeper."

"Yeah, but everyone wants to kill Briggs. He's annoying. Anyway, Jimmy only _tried_ to run him over. Briggs pissed Jimmy off when he boinked the missus."

"Excuse me?"

"You didn't know?"

"Randy Briggs and Trudy Poletti?"

Buster grinned. "Yeah, Briggs is an animal. He probably humped the dog when he was done with Trudy."

"Eww."

"We all knew Trudy fooled around, and Jimmy mostly looked the other way, but doing the bookkeeper was insulting. Briggs was a fucking employee. Not the mention people were making unflattering comparisons between Briggs and Jimmy. And just between you and me, I've seen Jimmy, and Briggs might be bigger in the old schlongarooni department." Buster rocked back on his heels, looking down at my belly again. "But I guess you would know more about that than me."

"Again, eww. This baby has _nothing_ to do with Briggs. Briggs had a firebomb shot into his apartment and asked me to protect him in exchange for helping find Jimmy. Do you know where Jimmy's hiding?"

"Maybe I'll remember if you show me your tits."

"How about I show you how I break a nose with my fist?"

"You're no fun."

"You think I'm not fun? You should meet my boyfriend."

ooo

Briggs was still out cold when I brought Grandma home, so I asked my mom if I could leave him on the kitchen floor if I came to collect him first thing in the morning. She wasn't thrilled, but she agreed as long as I was back first thing. Ramon and I drove home to my building and parked in my usual spot by the dumpster.

Lights were on in my apartment.

I hesitated. Morelli still had a key, since I'd never gotten around to asking for it back after I moved in with Ranger, but I didn't see his green SUV in the lot and he didn't have any reason to drop by. I didn't see any Rangeman vehicles either. Not that that meant anything. Rangeman could go stealth with the best of them. My phone rang. "Babe."

"Are you in my apartment?"

"Do you still have Briggs with you?"

"No. Just Ramon."

"Tell Ramon to watch the building and come up. I'll meet you in the kitchen."


	52. Chapter 52

AU of Top Secret 21, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Fifty-Two

Ranger

He was running on hour thirty-six with no sleep. Not unheard of for him. But when he finally got things stable enough to step away and rest for a few hours, his first thought had been of Stephanie. He heard the lock tumble on her front door. Felt the familiar energy enter, the bolts sliding in place behind her. She was on cat feet when she came into the kitchen. Like she was afraid of what she'd find. Some of the tension relaxed when their eyes met.

She paused. Looking him over. "This must be casual Tuesday."

She meant the blue jeans and plain black t-shirt. Steph was used to him in Rangeman black fatigues, or his more professional black on black business suits. She was never at ease when he dressed like a normal person. "They won't let anything leave the building," he explained. "Ella had to do some fast shopping."

"And the flak vest?"

He hadn't even thought about it after he'd unzipped it. There was a time in his life Kevlar was a second skin. "Just a precaution, Babe."

She broke and crossed the kitchen, throwing her arms around his waist. He snuggled her into him. His heart easing now that she was here in his arms. He kissed her head and she tipped her face up to his. Bright halo eyes shining. "Are you okay?"

"Yes."

"And you couldn't just call and tell me that?"

"Figured you knew. I've been fielding calls since last night from varies agencies and titles fighting to retain a foothold on my building, and my personal friendships with the governor, the chief of police, and the local FBI director aren't helping as much as I would have hoped. This is above their paygrade. We were finally able to get the satellite office running at full capacity. We're at least able to access our accounts and monitor our priority sites. Gave me enough breathing room to see you."

"Morelli said this was all because of Gardi."

Ranger nodded, kissing the bunched up worry lines between her eyebrows. "McCready discovered Gardi with a canister. There was a struggle, the canister was activated, and McCready and Gardi were contaminated. Gardi panicked and told McCready everything he knew, hoping he could get treatment in time to save himself. Fortunately, McCready was able to evacuate the building before the poison spread."

"Is McCready going to be okay?"

"No one is saying, but from the limited information I have, I suspect McCready and Gardi received a lethal dose. This stuff takes a while to kill. McCready is a good man. He's a team player. Everyone likes him. There are a lot of prayers being said at Rangeman."

"That's horrible. How did this happen?"

"We didn't do a body cavity check. Technically, we're not empowered. Gardi obviously knew this, because he had a delayed action aerosol cartridge of polonium-210 hidden in him. The plan was for him to release it into the air-conditioning system just before he left for Miami. At least that's what he told McCready, and what McCready passed on to us before he was hospitalized. I haven't been able to talk to either McCready or Gardi since they were admitted. They're both in isolation under heavy guard."

"I've never heard of polonium."

"It's produced in nuclear reactors. It's rare, and it's difficult to detect. If it enters the body through an open wound, if it's eaten, if a person breathes contaminated air, it's deadly. It causes multiple organ failure. McCready was watching the cell video feed when Gardi pulled the canister out, and McCready went to investigate. If the poison had gone undetected into the building ventilation system, it would have infected everyone in the building."

"Morelli said he thought Gardi was working for someone who had a vendetta against you."

Ranger looked into her earnest eyes. So open and honest and beyond pretense.

Who _didn't_ have a vendetta against him?

"I've made some enemies."

"That's it? That's all you've got? Some enemies?"

He couldn't hide the smile if he wanted to. "Are you worried about me, Steph?"

"Yes! How could I not be worried? Some lunatic just tried to take out the man I'm in love with and we don't have any clue what other lunatic might have put him up to it!"

Ranger snatched her up and kissed her, pivoting to lean her back against the counter, his hands caressing her ass as he pressed her center to his. She melted. Feeling a slow line up his chest to circle his neck. As comforted by the intimacy as she was enflamed by it. He nipped at her bottom lip and soothed it with a kiss. "Hearing you say you're in love with me is one of my favorite things."

"Yeah?"

He nodded, stroking her lips with his.

"What are your other favorite things?"

"If I had the time I'd show you," he said, leaning to take possession of her mouth again, but she stopped him.

"What do you mean if you had time? You're not staying?"

"I can't. I have a narrow window to catch a few hours of sleep. I really should do it on site incase anything goes wrong. I wouldn't have left at all, but I had to see you."

"You can't use your narrow window to sleep here?"

"I could be needed."

"You already are," she said, holding him prisoner with those bright eyes.

Ranger used to think he was a battle hardened mercenary, so far gone he was beyond feeling. Steph singlehandedly proved he was full of his own bullshit. His dead heart beat for her, filling him with all the lovely tender things her nearness inspired. He was so in love with her there was no going back. Not now.

Not ever.

"I wouldn't be able to stay through morning."

"Then take me with you."

"You wouldn't be comfortable there. We're running all of Rangeman out of a satellite office designed for a crew of six. It's all noise and constant movement." He thread his fingers into her hair. "But, I could stay with you here for a few hours," he said, stroking a thumb along the pulse point at her neck. "I do have just enough energy left to make us both happy."

He could tell it wasn't her ideal scenario, but she relaxed anyway. Contented that he could be hers again, if just for a little while. She slid her hands into his Kevlar vest. Tracing his body like it both scared her and turned her on. She pushed it off and he shrugged out of it, setting it on the kitchen counter next to his gun. He took her hand and led her toward her bedroom. Let her pull the black t-shirt off over his head.

Steph's eyes were always hungry when she looked at him, but there was no hiding the rawness of it when there weren't any clothes to obstruct her view. Steph liked his body. This time, it was the sight of his muscles and dark, scarred bare skin over the rugged pair of blue jeans. Different enough from his usual black cargo pants that she was mesmerized. He stalked toward her and she actually gulped. Eyes on fire as he gave the sleeves of her jacket a gentle tug. Bearing the soft, silky white camisole that showed off her breasts and shimmied down her body, barely highlighting their growing offspring. He dipped his head to kiss her chest. Then lower. Hands under the hem of camisole to caress her soft skin. Didn't take but a tug to get rid of the skirt. She got the front of his jeans undone and eased a hand inside. The simultaneous gasp and increase of heat and pheromones a clear indication she liked that he'd gone commando.

He laid her out over the end of the bed and lifted the creamy white silk to paint her with kisses. Drinking in her every pant and coo. He took special time tracing her ever growing circumference on his way to one of his other favorite things. Her fists knotted in the sheets. The panting even more erotic as she lost control. He made sure she felt every sensation. Every stroke and kiss and nibble. And when she seized up and cried out and relaxed again, he finally shed the jeans and moved over her, pulling her body with a strength that thrilled her until she was right up against him where he stood at the edge of the bed.

He wrapped her legs around his waist and filled her slowly. Sank deep. Feeling her tension change again with the aroused sigh. Didn't take much to stoke her up again. In fact, given the sounds she made there was a good chance she got there twice before he lost himself too in the final crash of cymbals. So at peace it wouldn't have mattered if the world was burning, as long as he had her.

He texted Tank that he'd be offline for a few hours and slid into the bed next to Stephanie. Bodies tangled in contentment as he fell into sleep.

ooo

Steph

I was naked and alone in my bed when I woke up, the sheets beside me cold but still smelling faintly of Ranger. I had a vague memory of his watch beeping in the darkness. His sleep thickened voice whispering "I've gotta go, Babe," accompanied by a soft, sweet kiss and a belly caress. I let out a sigh and pulled the covers back. Went to the dresser hoping I could find some laundry day leave-behinds tucked in a corner of a drawer somewhere.

Instead I found two complete sets of clothes with underwear included.

Ella strikes again.

I took a quick shower and dressed in a clean pair of jeans and a stretchy navy blue maternity top that said _Does This Shirt Make Me Look Pregnant_? Went to the kitchen to grab a breakfast sandwich before I went to my parents house to pick up Briggs. Found Ramon tying his shoe on the edge of a foldout sofa in my living room. "Sorry, I must have missed my first alarm. I meant to have all this cleaned up by the time you were up and about."

"It's not a problem, really. You're on your third day of double shifts. I'm surprised you're still going."

"Part of the job. And at least I didn't have to sleep in the car all night. Ranger tapped my window at two and told me to head up and crash here." He looked up at me, saw my shirt and smiled. Yeah. We'll see if he still thinks it's funny when the next person assumes the baby is his.

It was eight o'clock when we drove to my parents' house. Found Briggs pacing the sidewalk under Grandma's watchful eyes. His hair was a mess, and his shirt was stained and disheveled. "What the heck is that all over your shirt?" I asked him.

"It's chocolate," Grandma volunteered. "He woke up and snarfed down the cake. All of it. Your father went after him with a baseball bat. Lucky for Briggs it was your father's duty time. You know how your father has to keep on schedule with his morning duties. Good thing you got here before he was done in the bathroom."

"Somebody had to eat it," Briggs said. "It was just sitting there."

"You really ate the whole thing?" I asked him.

"I got carried away. I was hungry."

Grandma reminded me that Mrs. Poletti's funeral was tomorrow and I packed Briggs into the car. Figured I should drop him off at the apartment so that he could get cleaned up. He didn't smell great. "I'm going to trust you to behave yourself," I told him.

"I might take a nap. The cake made me sort of sick."

"Do _not_ take a nap in my bed."

"I'll take a shower first."

"No! You can sleep on the couch. If I find any evidence, a single new wrinkle in my sheets, you'll be sleeping in the parking lot."

"Boy, you'd think I had cooties or something."

"I'm _sure_ you have cooties."

I dropped Briggs off at the back door to my building and watched him amble in. Shuddered. Then turned toward the office.

Connie only had one new file for me. Stanley Kulicky. I knew Stanley from high school. He'd been a skinny kid back then. According to his photo now that was no longer the case. He'd been arrested for getting high and breaking into a diner to help himself to a couple five-gallon jugs of rice pudding to help with a munchie craving. Strapped them into the back of his car and decided to make himself a burger and fries and ended up setting the kitchen on fire, and then tried to flee the scene in a panic and rammed a cop car instead. The file Connie gave me said he was unemployed and living with his parents, so Lula and I drove over to see if we could bring him in without any fuss. Drug related first timers were notorious for forgetting their court dates. We found Stanley sitting on the garage roof. Naked.

Well. At least we knew he wasn't armed.

Stanley was close to three hundred pounds. He was a giant, immovable blob. I had no idea how to get him off the roof and into my car. God knows what would happen if he fell. He might burst apart like a water balloon on impact.

"Stanley? It's Stephanie Plum. I'm here to help you reschedule your court date."

"Yeah, I don't want to do that. They'll put me in jail again."

"Only for a little while, until you get rebonded."

"Not interested."

"Why are you on the roof naked?"

"It's nice up here. Peaceful, you know? And it's laundry day. I didn't have anything to wear."

"Not even a swim suit?"

Stanley didn't answer. He just kept sunning himself like an elephant seal on a beach.

"Listen up, Humpty Dumpty," Lula said. "It's not like you're an attractive sight up there. Get your ass down here now, or we're gonna send Zorro here up there to get you."

Ramon was already grimacing, but that earned us a sigh. He wasn't looking forward to tackling yet another naked guy for me.

"Does your mother know you're out here with no clothes on?" I tried. "I'm calling her."

"That's low," he said. "I'll make you a deal. I'll give you some weed if you don't call her. I got really good stuff."

"I'll make you a better deal. I won't call her if you get some clothes on and come downtown with me."

"I told you, my clothes are all getting washed."

"Then we'll wrap you in a bedsheet toga style," Lula said.

"Not interested."

I looked over at Ramon with an apologetic shrug and he hung his head. His face said he was reconsidering what he'd said about being lucky to get stuck on my detail. No amount of donuts, pot roast, or chocolate cake was worth wrestling three hundred pounds of naked guy off a roof.

Ramon took to the ladder still propped up against the roof ledge and Stanley bolted up. Second he saw who was coming he tried to scramble away and lost his footing. Rolled ass over teakettle right off the roof and landed on his mother's hydrangea bush. I sucked in a breath and ran to him. "Are you okay?"

"Do I look okay?"

"That's sort of a trick question."

I called 911 to come and extricate him from the bush. Lula guessed that he'd be farting blue flower petals for the next week. Stanley begged me not to call his mother, so Lula reluctantly agreed to go with him as long as he gave her some of his rice pudding after. I gave her my paperwork and told her to call if she ran into any trouble. We were watching the EMT truck pull away when my phone rang. It was Briggs.

"There's sort of a problem with your apartment," Briggs said. "I've got it mostly straightened out, but you might want to come see for yourself."

"Is it the toilet?"

"No."

"The television?"

"You have insurance, right?" Briggs asked.


	53. Chapter 53

AU of Top Secret 21, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Fifty-Three

I saw the black smudged brick above my window and the hole punched in the side of my building before I saw Briggs standing in the middle of the lot surrounded by police cars, EMT trucks and a fire engine. Rex's cage was in his arms, his clothes in tatters to match his soot blacked face and hair. One of his shoes was missing. I parked the Mercedes and ran over to him, grabbing the aquarium from him. I peered inside. Rex blinked at me from his soup can, no worse for wear. "Thank god you're okay."

"I'm okay too, in case you were wondering," Briggs said. "Sorry about your apartment."

"As long as Rex is okay. The rest is just stuff."

"He's good, I promise. I got him out before it got too smoky. It's not even as bad as it looks. The rocket missed the window and hit the building, so the fire wasn't as bad as mine. You're superintended put it out like a pro. He said he gets a lot of practice. He's got it down to a science now."

"When did this happen?"

"Pretty much right after you left. I figure Jimmy knew I was staying here, and he was watching to get me alone."

Ranger called my phone. "I'm fine," I told him. "Briggs was the only one in the apartment, and he carried Rex out."

"Any idea how it happened?"

"So far we're suspecting handheld rocket."

"I'm not liking this pattern, Babe."

"Tell me about it."

Morelli showed up not long after. Checked to see that Rex and I were alright before he went up to have a look and talk to the fire marshal. It was a while before the gawkers started trickling away and the first responders started packing it in. Morelli returned and handed Briggs his missing shoe. "I've seen worse. You were lucky it missed the window and hit the wall. Your living room was destroyed, but the rest of the apartment was intact. When did you get living room furniture, by the way. Last time I saw the place it was all carpet and new paint."

"Ranger's housekeeper Ella threw together some furnishings after the Rangeman evacuation."

"Brand new?"

"I couldn't tell. Could have been from a safehouse. How soon can I get in?"

"If the investigators don't find any structural damage, you should be able to get in this afternoon, but you're not going to be living there for at least a week or two. Maybe longer."

"Great. That's two homes in one week that have been locked down or gone up in smoke. At this rate they're going to evacuate all of Trenton and I'll be left sleeping on a bench at the bus station."

"Hey, It's not that bad," Morelli said, squeezing my arm when he saw the early signs of waterworks. "Rex is safe, and so's the plus one. That's all that matters, right?"

"Right."

"Why don't you take off and let me handle this. It's looking related to the Poletti investigation anyway. I'll call you when you can go in."

"Thanks."

ooo

I drove Rex to my parents' house to regroup, but my father was home so I didn't dare take Briggs inside. My father was still miffed about the cake. I gave Rex to Grandma for safe keeping and went back to the car. "You're going to have to find a place to live," I told Briggs. "I'm going to move home with my parents until Rangeman is cleared, and you can't stay there."

"Where am I supposed to go?"

"Go anywhere. Mooch off a friend or a relative. Move into a motel."

"Poletti will find me."

"He found you in my apartment and now there's a big hole in the wall!"

"What about using me as bait?"

"Didn't work out so well for me."

"Boy, so this is the thanks I get for saving your rat, huh? I could have just left him, you know. I didn't have to risk life and limb to save him. I could have died."

"He's a _hamster_. And you've got a lot of nerve playing the gratitude card since he was only in danger because of you in the first place. After all I've done for you."

"You mean get me drunk, and almost kidnapped, and nearly blown up?"

"And you want more?"

"I don't know what I want, I'm depressed. All I can focus on is I don't want to die."

My phone rang again. This time it was Lula. She and Stanley were done at the hospital and were ready for a pickup. They were waiting on the curb when I drove up three minutes later, Stanley in handcuffs and a pair of hospital gowns wrapped both front and back to keep my seat free of bare ass. We wedged him into the back seat and Lula climbed into the other side. Briggs was sandwiched in the middle. "Jeez, and I thought I was depressed before. If I'd known I was going to be smashed into a blubber sandwich I'd've just let Potelli blow me up."

"You look like you _did_ get blown up. You smell like somebody doused a street sofa with whiskey and set it on fire."

"I've got an idea," I said before Briggs could get any more smartass or Lula could switch over to rhino mode. "Let's grab some lunch. I'm growing a person over here and I'm starving."

"Oh my god, yes!" Stanley seconded.

"Yeah, I'm hungry too," Briggs said. "Getting firebombed really takes it out of you. I'm telling you, Poletti's out to get me and he's not going to stop until he succeeds."

"Maybe you shouldn't have done his wife," I said.

"Everyone's done his wife. I was last in line. There was no one left to do her. I thought I was doing everyone a favor."

"Hold up," Lula said. "Are we talking skinny ass yoga lady?"  
"What's with the surprise? For the record, there are lots of ladies who think I'm hot."

"That's a disturbin' announcement," Lula said. "I don't want to meet those ladies."

"Jeez Louise," I said. "The next person to say something not about lunch can walk to Cluck-in-the-Bucket. The pregnant lady needs feeding."

I swung into the parking lot and everyone contemplated the menu, reaching the consensus that they wanted a double Clucky Burger with large fries, onion rings, a diet Coke, and an apple pie for dessert each. We were debating who would go in for the food and who would stay and watch Stanley when Briggs jumped to his feet right there on the seat.

"Hey! That guy getting out of the black SUV. That's Jimmy Poletti. That son of a bitch tried to blow me up twice!" He jumped over Stanley and was out of the car in two seconds.

"Shit," I said, following by instinct. Ramon hit the door before me and told me to stay, sprinting for the SUV. Poletti wheeled around when he heard Briggs swearing. He saw Ramon and scrambled back into the SUV and peeled away. Ramon came up short. Doubled over more out of frustration than to catch his breath. He was still frowning when he sauntered back to the car. "Could be worse," I told him. "You might have been stuck figuring out how to strap Stanley to the roof to make room in the back seat for Poletti."

ooo

I'd just finished filling my belly at the office when Morelli texted to let me know I could return to my apartment. I left Lula and Briggs with Connie and drove Ramon down Hamilton. He went as far as the lobby, then left me to take the elevator up with Morelli alone.

It wasn't quite the same as the other times my apartment was destroyed. The apartment had been home then. A home that had been violated just to target me. It wasn't even me that was the target this time. There was still a sense of defeat, though, as I thought of the charred remains of the less than 48 hour old living room set Ella had magicked up for me. "The poor flat screen," I said to Morelli. "I didn't even get to watch it."

"Knowing Ranger he probably has a warehouse full of them somewhere."

Morelli took my hand when I hesitated and led the way onto the second floor. Dillian Ruddick, the building super, had the wet vac going, sucking up water from the soggy hall carpet. I thanked him for saving my apartment and let Morelli tug me inside before I could lose it.

"Be careful where you walk," he told me. "The carpets are soaked. We'll get a restoration team in here tomorrow. As you can see, most of the damage was confined to the living room."

"Omigod. I can see daylight through the hole in my wall."

"Dillian's going to board it up as soon as he gets rid of some of the water. I thought you might want to grab whatever clothes you had here."

"There's not much, aside from Briggs' stuff. Most of my things are still quarantined at Rangeman."

"Yeah. It's been a rough week for you. So, where are you going now? You shacking up wherever it is that Ranger landed?"

I shook my head. "It didn't sound like there was a lot of room there. I was thinking I'd stay with my parents, but I don't know what to do with Briggs. I'm not even sure they'd be willing to let Ramon sleep on the couch, and he's my paid body guard. There's no way they'd take Briggs in after the chocolate cake incident."

"Briggs is an adult. He can take care of himself."

"Everything in his apartment was destroyed. And Poletti is trying to kill him."

"It's not like he's blameless. He helped Poletti cheat on his taxes, and he boinked his wife."

"You know about the wife?"

"Everybody knows about the wife."

"And he saved Rex."

"Now we're getting somewhere," Morelli said.

"I just can't walk away from him."

Morelli was hiding a pained grimace under the amused expression. "You're such a cupcake."

I felt the burn of tears again and the pained expression won out.

"Shit. I hate it when you cry." He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me close, kissing the top of my head. "Tell you what. If you can guarantee Ranger won't hunt me down, you can stay with me. And you can bring your entourage with you."

"That won't be awkward?"

"No more awkward than everything else is between us these days. But Ramon and Briggs will have to duke it out over the couch. If we were still together I'd let Ramon have the guest room and you could share with me, but with you growing the Fetus of Mystery I'm afraid I'd end up on a hit list if you sleep anywhere but the guest room."

ooo

There wasn't much for me to grab from the apartment, but I took what little there was to my mom's house to be washed. Grandma promised to take extra care of the new skirt and blazer combo so that it would be ready for the funeral tomorrow. Ugh. I always hated going to viewing, but funerals were the worst. I always cry at funerals, even if I didn't particularly care for the deceased. I was just hoping it would be over before my doctor's appointment. I was also hoping Ranger would still be able to meet me at the doctor's office. Ranger was a stable, calming influence in my life that I'd started depending on the last few months. Being without him this long made me feel on shaky ground all over again.

I drove us all to the bonds office and Briggs took his duffle bag to the bathroom to change his clothes. Lucky for him, the canvas was heavy duty enough that his things were relatively unharmed by the smoke and water.

"Has there been any more news about Rangeman?" Connie asked me.

"Not yet. It's still under quarantine."

"My cousin Loretta called about a half hour ago. She's a nurse at St. Francis, and she said Emilio Gardi isn't doing well. He's in kidney failure."

The ever present sick feeling squirmed harder in my stomach. "What about Ranger's man McCready?"

"I haven't heard about him."

I called Ranger. "How's McCready doing?"

"He's managing. They're trying something new with him."

"And you?"

"Dealing. I'm operating at a fraction of the capacity without my control room. I can't always see you."

"I'll just have to be extra careful then," I said, fighting the worry. There've been times when I would have welcomed the news that Ranger wasn't following my every move, but this wasn't one of them. Even with a full time body guard.

Ranger disconnected and I was at a loss all over again.

"You okay?" Lula asked. "You're whiter than usual."

"I'm a little freaked out."

"You know what helps me when I'm freaked out? Donuts."

"Yeah. That's a good idea."

"What's a good idea," Briggs said, coming out of the hallway looking less charbroiled.

"We're getting donuts," Lula said.

"Ooh, count me in."

I wasn't as interested in donuts as I was a chance to think. I dropped Lula and Briggs off at Tasty Pastry and gave Briggs a twenty. "Get me two chocolate covered ones."

"You got it."

I waited until they were inside and then pulled away from the curb and started for center city. Lula called my phone. "What the heck?"

"Sorry. Just stay with Briggs. I'll be back in a little bit I swear."

Ramon shot me a curious look. "Where are we going?"

"I need to see Ranger," I told him. "Do you know where the satellite office is?"

ooo

Ranger

He got the text from Ramon a full ten seconds before the operations center went silent downstairs. His intercom chirped. Tank. "I think you'll want to see this."

He didn't need to look to know what it was, but the draw of seeing her even thirty seconds sooner was too tempting to pass up. He tapped his monitor and, sure enough, there was his smartassed Stephanie standing in the open fold of her Mercedes' driver side door, waving at the camera that was tucked up into the eves so deep it was supposed to be invisible from the street. She'd known by instinct where he'd have put it to get the best angle. God that was sexy. "Buzz her in," he told the intercom. Then he called her phone and could actually hear the sass in her silence. "Babe."

"Howdy."

The gate opened in front her and he watched her angle into the seat again and put the car in gear. Followed her onto the monitor that covered the small six vehicle parking lot. It was only half filled. Most of his men were in the field, or resting at the motel Tank had arranged as temporary residence while Rangeman was inaccessible. Tank met her at the back door of the townhouse and ushered her inside. Pointed her to the six-man elevator he'd installed in the three story townhouse and sent her to the third floor.

She just stood there when the elevator doors opened, taking it all in. Not what she was expecting. The walls were white. Furniture sleek black leather. Cement floors. The place had a newly renovated galley style kitchen where Ella came twice a day to prepare meals for the men. A dining room that seated six, and his small nook of a den in the corner that housed his office and a small seating area complete with wall mounted flat screen television. Then she saw the partition that was the only separation between the communal living space and what served as the master bedroom. All of it open via balcony to the operations center on the second floor below them.

"Is this the Batcave?" she asked in awe.

"It was a safe house until you discovered it."

"And now it's not safe?"

"Now it's a home."

"Wow!"

The corner of his mouth ticked up all on its own. "Is there a reason for this surprise visit, or did you just miss me?"

"I definitely miss you, but in this case there's a reason too. And I hate to tell you this, but your safehouse wasn't that hard to find, even with the game where you had Ramon pretend he didn't know where it was."

"He wasn't pretending, Babe. Until Rangeman was compromised, this satellite office was basically a black box. I bought it six months ago as a backup site, and aside from Tank and I, the only ones who knew it's exact location was the crew of four who maintained the sensitive files brought over manually to avoid leaving trace on the cloud. Ramon was with you, so he never got rerouted here after Rangeman was quarantined. But it doesn't surprise me that you were able to find it on your own. You do know me very well. So what is this reason you had beyond just missing me?"

"I have two problems. The first is Jimmy Poletti. I know Poletti is in the area because he just shot a firebomb into my living room. Unfortunately, I'm not having any luck capturing him. I thought you might be able to help."

"Do you have a plan?"

"I have some ideas."

"And your second problem?"

"It's you. I don't like the thought that some freakaziod polonium assassin will have better luck the second time around and you'll end up glowing in the dark. It's causing me stress, so I wish you'd find the guy and eliminate him."

"I'm working on it."

"Do you have any leads?"

"I think this person is probably Russian. Either mob or military. I've apprehended some members of the Russian mob. And it wouldn't be hard to imagine Gardi moving in those circles."

"Why Russian?"

"The polonium-210 that was in Gardi's possession is a relatively obscure radioactive poison that has limited production. To my knowledge it's currently being produced only in Russia and is available only to well-connected Russians."

"And you think some Russian mob guy hates you enough to do this?"

"It would require a certain level of insanity, but it's possible."

"So how do you find this guy?"

"It's hard without access to Gardi."

"Morelli said even the police don't have access."

"Gardi's been charged with nuclear terrorism. He's guarded by an army of FBI agents, and no one at the federal level is sharing information."

"I bet I can get you in."

His brow shot up a fraction. Not what he'd expected her to say.

"I've got Randy Briggs," she explained. "He was head of security at Central until the whole stolen patients thing, and while he was at Central he filled in weekends at St. Francis. I'm sure he knows everyone's schedule and all the ways to get onto a floor."

Even Ranger's contacts couldn't manage something like that. "Let's make it happen."


	54. Chapter 54

AU of Top Secret 21, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Fifty-Four

Steph

There was only one donut left when I got back to the Tasty Pastry. I snagged it and drove us all to the bonds office before I turned to Briggs. "Ranger needs to talk to Gardi. Do you think you could get him into St. Francis?"

"Getting him in wouldn't be a problem. Getting him to Gardi? That's a different story. From what I hear they've got him in isolation, and the floor is crawling with FBI. They won't even let hospital security in. I don't suppose Ranger can turn invisible."

"Sometimes I think he can pass through locked doors like a ghost, but I don't think invisibility is one of his superpowers. Someone must be getting in. Doctors, nurses, housekeeping, food service. What would be our best shot?"

"Housekeeping. I'm sure everyone going into that room is gowned and masked, so that's an advantage. I can get you suited up, and then all you have to do is go in with a stack of towels and sheets. Late afternoon is the best. Unless Gardi's having an emergency, he should be alone. Doctors do rounds in the morning, and nurses do paperwork around four o'clock. Security wouldn't go in. They'd likely be hanging out in the hallway outside his door. The problem is with Ranger. Housekeeping is all women. They work in pairs, pushing a cart filled with supplies."

"I could be a pair with Stephanie," Lula volunteered. "Ordinarily I don't like being in hospitals, but being all suited up cuts down on the risk of cooties, and I could perform the snot outta being an undercover nurse."

"Are you sure you can't get Ranger in?" I asked Briggs. "He needs some specific information."

"I can suit him up, and I can tell him how to get on the floor. I don't know if he can bluff his way past the FBI. If I was protecting Gardi, I'd be reluctant to let a big guy I didn't know get into the room."

"But seein' as we're ladies we wouldn't have those problems," Lula said. "We could go about our business like we were invisible."

"Maybe. It's a crapshoot."

"Do you know what Ranger needs to get out of Gardi?" Lula asked me.

"He wants to know who gave Gardi the polonium. But there's a major problem with this plan. I'm six months pregnant. I can't expose my baby to someone who's radioactive."

"You could wait with the cart and I could ask him," Lula said.

That sounded equally problematic. We would likely only get one shot at this. If Lula didn't ask just the right questions we could end up with nothing and blow any chance we had of finding out what sicko terrorist is targeting my family. "Is there any way for Lula to sneak in a cell phone or a two way recording device?"

"I wouldn't risk it," Briggs said. "If you're seen it'll blow your cover for sure. Protocols for working with radiation patients are pretty strict. They only let trained personnel go near the patient, and they have to avoid contact and wear radiation badges to make sure they stay within the safe limits for occupational exposure. But the daily limit is a half hour, and that's close contact. If you stay at least an arm's length away from him and don't touch anything, you should be okay for a good five, ten minutes."

"Are you absolutely sure about that?" I asked him.

"Well, I didn't memorize the protocols or anything, but I think I remember there being a pregnant nurse once. Baby didn't come out with extra toes or anything."

"Omigod."

"I hate to add pressure," Connie said, "but if you need information from Gardi you want to try for it sooner rather than later. He's not doing well."

I drew in a deep breath and let it all out at once. Didn't make me feel any better. I stepped outside and called Ranger. Told him the options.

"This wasn't what I had in mind," he said.

"No, but it's the only plan we've got."

"This isn't a risk you should have to take, Steph. We'll find another way."

"How? If Gardi dies, we'll never know who put him up to it. What are the chances they'll try again? Maybe succeed next time? Somebody has to do this. If I could think of a single other person who could I wouldn't have even put it on the table."

Ranger was quiet a long moment. Probably running his options ten times faster than I ever could. The persistent silence told me he hadn't come up with anything better either. "Is Briggs 100% sure that both you and the baby can be safe with minimum exposure?"

"He said he'd give me a badge with a radiation detector in it. He said the daily limit is a half hour. I'll be in and out well before that." Ranger didn't say anything. "And if I get caught you'll be my one phone call," I offered.

That time the silence felt like swearing.

I disconnected.

St. Francis was walking distance, but I let Ramon drive us. His face looked the way that Ranger's silence sounded. I left him in the car and Briggs took us to a back entrance that was used for maintenance. He tapped in the four digit code and the door opened. Jeez. This hospital needed better security. We followed the empty corridor to the supply rooms and pulled scrubs on over our clothes. Grabbed sterile gowns and masks, and Briggs rolled a laundry cart over to us. Clipped an octagonal shaped security badge to my waist.

"Connie said he's in isolation on the third floor," Briggs said. "Ordinarily he'd be in the lockdown ward for prisoners, but they don't have the ability to isolate him there. Tell the guard at the door you're here for the contaminated linens. Make sure you're wearing double gloves and the mask. If the guard has any sense, he'll walk away from the room when you go in."

"I thought you said I shouldn't touch anything."

"You don't have to. You're not actually on the schedule, so you dropping by won't affect the real housekeeping staff. Just carry the clean linens in, rumple 'em up a little, and pretend they're the dirty ones. As long as one of you stays outside with the laundry cart and everything looks right on the security cameras in the hall, no one should be the wiser. Just don't take the masks off until you're back here. There are cameras everywhere beyond this point."

We pulled our masks on and followed Brigg's instructions to the service elevator, took it up to the third floor. Lula got an extra Showtime swagger when she set her sights on the three men standing in the hall outside Gardi's door. They were in rumbled gray suits and wearing earbuds. "You know we're supposed to keep a low profile, right?" I reminded her.

"Sure, I know that. Don't worry, I got this."

Lula stopped in front of the men and turned toward the closed door with the big sign signifying radiation. "Shandra and me are here to get the contaminated linens in this room," she said. "We're sort of new at this, so you might wanna stand back in case we accidentally spew some bad shit out at you."

All three men took several steps back.

I pulled on double gloves and carried the large heavy-duty orange plastic bag with a radiation symbol on it and the stack of fresh linens into the room, and closed the door behind me. Gardi was in the bed, hooked up to all kinds of monitors and tubes. He didn't look good at all. Gray and pale. Like he was already fading out of existence.

"Hey, how's it going?" I asked him from near the doorway. I didn't want to get any closer than was absolutely necessary.

His eyes only half opened. "Great."

"Sorry about the polonium."

"Shit happens."

"I heard someone set you up."

"You heard wrong. I set myself up. It was a business deal. I needed money. Bad. Now I'm a dead man."

"There might be an antidote."

"You got one in your pocket?"

"Just saying. Who gave you the polonium?"

"Who wants to know?"

"Ranger."

"Figures. Look, I got nothing personal against him, even though he ruined my dinner with my friends."

"Then help me out here. Who gave you the polonium?"

"Some guy with a weird tattoo on his neck. I told the FBI, and they looked at me like I was nuts. I don't think they believed me."

"Does this guy have a name?"

"I didn't get one. He approached me. Said he knew I needed money. Said he had a lot of money and needed a job done."

"What did he look like?"

"Average height and build. He was wearing a hooded sweatshirt with the hood up. Caucasian, but I couldn't see his hair. He had on mirrored sunglasses, but I could see he had a scar above one of his eyes. He had some kind of accent. Sort of British. And he had that tattoo on his neck."

"What did the tattoo look like?"

"It was a skull with a flower."

"And he told you he wanted you to deliver the polonium?"

"Yeah. He said if I got it on me it was deadly so I should be careful. I guess he got that right."

"But you agreed to do it anyway."

"It was a _lot_ of money. And it seemed safe. The canister had a timer on it. I pushed the button, and I had a half hour before it spewed out the shit. Except the stupid thing got busted in the scuffle with the Rangeman guy, and it sprayed me right in the face."

"How did Skull and Flower pass the canister to you?"

"He got me a hotel room in New York. The Gatewell. The canister was in the room when I checked in."

"And the money?"

"Cash. Delivered to my… financial partners."

"Jeez, Emilio, this sucks."

"Is my hair falling out yet?"

"Not that I can tell."

"If I beat this thing, I'm debt free."

"Yeah. Well, good luck."

I dropped the linens into the bag and gave them a ruffle on the way out of the room. Shoved it into the cart. "We all done here?" Lula asked.

"Yep. All done."

ooo

Ramon was waiting behind the wheel of my Mercedes when Lula, Briggs and I left the building. He drove us back to the bonds office and let Lula and Briggs out. "Ranger would like to see you," he told me.

No surprise there. I sat very still on the way back to the safehouse on Bender Street. I took the elevator alone to the third floor and found Ranger at his desk. He leaned back in his chair and looked at me. "You didn't need to make your one phone call."

"No. I got in to see Gardi, and so far no one's come after me."

"How is he?"

"He looks terrible, but he was coherent. He's been talking to the FBI. Sounds like they don't think the information is worth anything though." I told him what Gardi had said.

"Let me guess. The tattoo was a skull and a flower."

"Yes! Do you know him?"

"Only as Vlatko. Our paths crossed while I was on a search and rescue mission in North Korea, and he was a Russian SVR thug. SVR is the new KGB."

"Did you work together?"

"No. We were on opposite sides. He was Russian intelligence, and I was point man for a ground troops unit."

"And?"

"The operation was a success, but it wasn't clean. Troops were lost on both sides. I was captured and handed over to Vlatko for torture. His specialty was disembowelment. He put a six-inch slice into my belly before I managed to get the knife from him."

"I thought that scar was from an appendectomy."

"If the knife had gone deeper, it would have been."

"And what did you do to _him_?"

"I stuck the knife in his eye."

"Wow, that's pretty horrible. North Korea was years ago. Have you heard from Vlatko since?"

"No. I thought he was out of my life."

"I guess he didn't like losing an eye."

"Go figure," Ranger said, his eyes still serious. "How good were you at following Briggs' protocols?"

"I didn't touch anything and I stayed by the doorway, a good ten feet away from him."

"I called Dr. Weston as soon as you hung up. Asked him about the potential risks involved so that I would have time to call it off if there was any chance you or the baby could be injured."

"And?"

"He had to do some fast research, but he said that while there are strict prohibitions about pregnant women and their proximity to active radiation therapy for cancer treatments, Polonium emits a high-energy form of radiation. The particles don't travel as far and they decay rather quickly. It's deadly when introduced into the body even in small amounts, but the risks of exposure through proximity are low. At ten feet, you aren't likely to have been at risk at all."

"That's a relief."

Ranger was still serious, but I could see the slight ease in his eyes that said he agreed. He gestured me closer and I came over to him, letting him pull me into his lap. His hand stroking the swell of belly through my shirt. "I don't like that you even had to considered putting yourself in danger like that. This isn't fair to you."

"What's not fair is you having to face this alone while I wring my hands on the sidelines."

"Vlatko isn't an unruly skip. He's as intelligent as Alvarez, crazy as Orrin, and more connected than Sunuchi. He was a high level Russian operative when we had our run in. No telling what he's up to now."

"Don't try to ground me. Not now."

"Steph, you're too brilliant, insightful, and stubborn to ever be grounded. You were meant to fly. And the truth is, I need you. Now more than ever. I just hate that you've been put in this position because of me."

"I know something you'll hate even more. With my apartment blown up and my father hating Briggs to his core, I'm at a loss for a place to stay. Morelli offered to take in my merry band of misfits."

"So not only am I locked out of my building, fighting to keep my business going, and the target of what could be an ex-Russian-spook turned global terrorist, but the love of my life is going to take my unborn child and move in with her ex-boyfriend?"

I could see the humor shining in his eyes again and chanced a goofy shrug.

I must have been right on the mark, because the shine turned into a soft laugh and he leaned close enough to kiss me. "What if you were to stay here with me? It's not ideal conditions. When I bought the building I didn't actually expect to need the loft for privacy. I haven't had a chance to renovate it yet. It's basically the equivalent of sleeping in my office on five with the door open. But I'd definitely be happier to have you with me again."

"What about Briggs?"

"I don't have an emotional attachment to Briggs."

"I sort of feel responsible for him. Morelli only offered him a roof because it was a package deal. I know most guys would have a stroke if their girlfriend suggested sleeping over at her ex's, but—"

"Babe, that's not the part I'm worried about."

"Explain."

"Steph, Morelli's a good guy. But now that I know Vlatko's involved I'm not particularly comfortable with the idea of letting you out of my sight. If this was just about your comfort it might even make sense for you to crash with Morelli for a day or two."

"You really wouldn't have a problem with it?"

His dark eyes held mine. "Stephanie, I spent three straight years trying to seduce you, and as bad as you wanted me you never crossed that line when you were exclusive. No matter how many times we shared a bed."

"Well, there was that one time when you were living with me in my apartment."

"That was very close. If Morelli hadn't shown up stopped by nothing but the security chain on the door I'd've had us both halfway to heaven in a matter of minutes. In my defense, I'd been waking up with you all over me for three days. My self-control only goes so far."

"You're not worried about Morelli's self-control?"

"Morelli knows that if he lays a hand on you I'll come looking for him and it won't be pretty. Something he's not likely to forget with the six months of baby as a constant reminder that you belong to me."

"Is that so?" I asked him.

He nodded, brushing his lips across mine again in a way that curled my toes. "I've claimed every last inch of you, Babe. All the way through."

"You mean my heart?"

"You've already claimed mine. Seems only fair."

"Am I really the love of your life?"

"Steph, you're the _only_ woman I've ever loved."

"Wow. I'm speechless."

"Now _that_ is a surprising announcement."

"So… what do I do? Briggs doesn't have anywhere else to go."

"If it's that important to you, I'll have Tank find a place for him at the motel where we're keeping half of Rangeman. He'd be safe, and not here."

"Boy, you think of everything."

He smiled. "So, did you learn anything else from Gardi I should know about? Maybe how he was contacted, or how he got his hands on the polonium?"

"All he gave me was the name of the hotel in New York. The Gatewell."

"I'll do some research on it. If we're lucky it'll give us a lead on where to start looking for our man."

"Would this research involve hacking into their client database?"

"That would be illegal," Ranger said. "Not to mention difficult from this location."

"But you're going to manage it anyway, aren't you?"

Ranger smiled and pulled me in for another tempting kiss. "See. You do know me well."


	55. Chapter 55

AU of Top Secret 21, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Fifty-Five

Rangeman seemed to have settled into more a normal level of high alert now that the scrambling rush was over, so Ranger took the opportunity to relieve Ramon. Sent him to pick up Briggs on his way to Rangeman's temporary housing. Ella showed up to cook dinner around five, and by six there was a regular stream of guys coming and going, taking food or eating at the table in the kitchen. It was a lot like hanging out in the break room at Rangeman. Except that at Rangeman, when I wanted a moment of quiet I could go upstairs to the crisp seclusion of our penthouse apartment. It was a little unnerving knowing when the time came to go the bed, there would be nothing but a partition between me and the low level buzz of operations.

Ranger was still researching the New York hotel when I was done eating. "I need to go to my parents' house to get my laundry. Grandma has my black suit airing so I can wear it to the funeral tomorrow."

"Do you still want help with Poletti?"

"That would be nice. I could use another set of eyes."

"I'll work it into my schedule tomorrow before your doctor's appointment. You can take Hal with you to your mom's house."

"That's okay. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to run into any trouble picking up laundry."

"Humor me."

I held in the sigh. Ranger could be overprotective sometimes. Understanding why didn't make it any easier.

I'd only had the four changes of clothes to give my mother that afternoon, but it was all cleaned and folded neatly when I arrived, my mourning clothes on a hanger so that they would be fresh for the funeral tomorrow. Grandma even had a fresh set of pajamas for me. They were pink with yellow daisies and a matching yellow shirt, with an elastic waist that was long enough to fit my body just right. My mother and grandmother were queens of homemaking. I was okay when it came to cleaning, but I was pretty sure I never inherited the organization gene.

Grandma invited me into the kitchen to have some homemade vanilla pudding with whipped cream. "Did you hear about Emilio Gardi?" she asked me. "Marjorie Barstock called and said he just died."

"Are you sure?"

"Marjorie's daughter works at the hospital, and she said there was a big to do over it. The FBI was hoping he'd stay alive long enough for them to get more information out of him. Do you think they'll have to bury him in one of them toxic waste dumps in Nevada?"

"Hard to say. It sounds like the radiation that killed him wasn't the kind that stays around."

"Marjorie also said the Poletti boy was in the emergency room today too. The young one. Her daughter said he was high as a kite and he had some burns on his hands. I guess he was smoking some weed and he set his shirt on fire, and then burned himself when he was trying to rip his shirt off. It's a perfect example of why weed is more dangerous than alcohol. Most of the time people don't set themselves on fire when they're drinking alcohol."

"I should get back. Hal's waiting in the car."

Grandma walked me and my laundry out to the Mercedes. "If you hear anything about the burial, let me know. And we need to be at the church tomorrow at eight in the morning. I don't need to get there early on account of I don't care where I sit for that."

"Ranger and I will pick you up at seven thirty. Thanks again for the pajamas."

I stopped by the convenience store on Hamilton on my way back to the satellite office. Ella was an amazing cook, but Ranger didn't allow his men to eat junk food. There'd been a long standing rule that if I wanted Tastykakes, or ice cream, or cookies, I had to provide them myself. Considering the way my day was going, I thought some ice cream was in order. I picked up three pints, a couple bags of cookies and a package of Twizzlers just to be sure. Ranger almost smiled when I brought my bounty up to three with my folded clothes. "How's it going?"

"I found out the Gatewell is a small boutique hotel on the West Side," he said, rising from his desk chair with effortless grace. "Still working on accessing their guest registry or the security footage."

I set the bag of junk food on the table. "Gardi died."

"I heard. You were right about the timing. If we'd waited trying to come up with another plan we wouldn't know who we were up against. I have two men searching through data for signs of Vlatko, but we're not turning anything up."

"How hard could it be to find a one-eyed guy with a skull and a flower tattooed on his neck?"

"No hits so far on Match dot com. Might need to try E Harmony."

"Do you have a lot of work to do before you go to bed?"

"A fair amount. I have to return some calls with Homeland and then I have a bunch of paperwork to do. I'll try to get the phone calls done before you crash for the night."

"How have you been coping with this set up? Mr. Privacy having no privacy?"

He smiled and took my clothes from me, leaning down to press a sweet but nowhere near chaste kiss to my lips. "It wasn't hard until you got here."

Oh boy. This was going to be a whole new challenge to sleep next to him and not rip his clothes off. Especially when Ranger almost never sleeps with clothes on to begin with.

I didn't have any research of my own to do, so I ended up watching the ball game on the flat screen with the ice cream, cookies, and Twizzlers. I lost interest around ten and went into the attached bathroom to change into my new pajamas. The fixtures were nice, if a little dated. Ranger would likely gut the bathroom and put in new everything. Like the way he would put up proper walls between the bedroom and living areas, maybe add a kitchen downstairs and close off the whole loft.

Ranger had planned for the worst. It was what he does. But he'd never expected to actually need it. Never expected a man who specialized in disembowelment to resurface from his past and burn down everything he'd worked so hard to build. To try and murder his men. His staff. Him. That twisted the fear in my stomach like a knife. Ranger had always seemed so impenetrable. He was Batman. Mysterious, and brave. Taking down anyone who crossed him like he was made of steel.

But he wasn't made of steel.

I'd seen Ranger bleed with my own eyes. Seen him shot in the chest, life draining out of him, while I stood helpless. I knew that day the giant hole he would leave in my life if I ever lost him.

I curled up in the bed and flicked the lights off. The faint stream from the opening in the partition shining across the wall with the faint tapping of his keyboard. I felt the baby squirm in my belly and traced the sensation. Letting my hand rest over the nudging.

How can I protect a man like Ranger from something like this?

ooo

Ranger

It was nearing two in the morning before he was ready to pack it in for the night. He'd been messaging with Silvio at the Miami office. Ranger was decent with a computer, but Silvio was better. He also had a new assistant who had been on the CyberCrimes watchlist before erasing his tracks to go legit. They'd already cracked the Gatewell's security footage. Promised to run through the night with the facial recognition software.

He stood and stretched. The low level buzz from operations was constant. Little quieter than the control room at Rangeman. They were a skeleton crew due to the limited space, and very aware that their boss and his girlfriend were possibly sleeping just overhead. And yet he still almost missed the faint sounds coming from the bedroom beside him. Distressed breathing, and a muffled sob.

Ranger moved around the corner and found Stephanie still sleeping, blankets knotted around her, face pressed into the pillow. Grief etched in every line.

She was having a nightmare.

Ranger leaned over her and pushed the sweat soaked curls from her face. "Babe." Her eyes snapped open and she gasped, fists catching his shirt. "It's alright, Steph. It was just a dream."

Several raw emotions crossed her face in quick succession. Fear. Relief. And then the pain creased again and folded her up in sadness.

He shifted onto the bed and wrapped her tight in his arms, holding her close when she lost the fight to keep from sobbing. She was trembling head to toe. He let her. His body a strong, steady cradle she clung to for dear life. He wiped her tears away when they finally slowed. Pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Do you want to tell me about it?"

She shook her head at first, but her grip on him tightened. Unable to let go. He soothed her hair back and snuggled her close. Waiting out the silence. Took a long moment for the trembling to stop. Her body relaxing into his warmth. Her fist was the last to unclench, still closed around his black cotton t-shirt. "You died," she whispered, barely a sound.

"You had a nightmare, Steph, that's all."

"It was so real."

"Side effect of the pregnancy hormones. They can cause vivid dreams. Usually they're about sex, but it's possible the stress is finally catching up to you. Buoyancy only goes so far."

She relaxed another fraction. Her cold hands moving under his shirt to better feel his warmth. He shifted the bedcovers and folded them both in so that she could nest flush against his side. Her legs tangling with his in his blue jeans. Before Stephanie, he could have never imagined such an intimate embrace having nothing to do with lust, and somehow still being everything.

The light brush of her fingers traced his stomach. Found the six inch scar that slashed his abdomen. "I can't stop thinking about the knife going in."

"It was years ago."

"But he tortured you."

"Didn't get very far."

"How can you make jokes about this? You said once that you were captured by Columbian rebels and tortured for three days, but you said it like it didn't matter."

He lifted her chin. Forcing her to meet his eyes. "Stephanie, I was Special Ops for most of my military career. I've seen and done things you wouldn't want to imagine. Things I can't ever explain. Getting tied to a chair and beaten bloody for three days wasn't fun. But it's not the worst thing I've ever been through."

"How could you say that?"

"Because I've almost lost you a couple times. As a soldier, I knew what I was facing. Signed up to put everything on the line. I didn't have anything but my life to lose, and that gave me a certain amount of power, even when I was facing terrorists and rebels and SVR thugs. But nothing in that life or the life after could have prepared me for you."

She chewed her lip. "I wasn't ready for you either."

The corners of his mouth tipped up. "I'd gathered."

Steph searched deeper in his shirt, tracing the old bullet wound in his shoulder, and the newer one at his neck. Tender. "You weren't ever scared?"

"I don't dwell on it."

"Ever?"

"Ever."

"You're very good at compartmentalizing."

"Had a lot of practice," he said, leaning close enough to feel her lips with his. "Rest. You're exhausted."

Steph laid her face on his chest. He waited until she relaxed again and the tension left her. Listening to her even breaths as she drifted back to sleep wrapped safe around him.

ooo

Steph

I slept better after Ranger had come to bed, but I didn't sleep great. It's always weird staying in an unfamiliar place. Add the open office door feeling and it was nearly impossible. I finally gave up for the morning and took a shower, dressing in my black skirt, slinky white top, and black blazer. Wandered into the kitchen to hunt up some breakfast. Ranger was already at his desk, in black slacks and a form fitting black t-shirt, his black blazer draped around the back of his chair. Stood to kiss me. "You're still tired."

"Sleeping is getting harder the bigger I get anyway. I'll just have to find time to take a nap later. You're not in Rangeman fatigues today. Do you have a meeting later, or is this just for the funeral?"

"I need to head to New York after your appointment, and I thought the security guard look would be limiting. The hotel is our only lead. I could use your help, if you're up for the field trip. You could always catch your nap on the drive."

"That could work." I was trying to hide the smile, but I'm pretty sure he saw it anyway. It felt pretty good that Ranger had such faith in me. "I promised Grandma we'd pick her up for the funeral at seven thirty. What's the plan with Briggs?"

"Tank said he's driving the men crazy. He said he intends to bring him to the funeral and dump him at the cemetery like an unwanted pet."

"That's terrible."

"It's also bullshit. Tank would never do that to a pet."


	56. Chapter 56

AU of Top Secret 21, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Fifty-Six

Grandma was wearing a royal blue pantsuit and black patent leather pumps when we picked her up in the Mercedes. She was carrying her large black patent leather purse too, which I strongly suspected held her .45 long barrel Smith and Wesson. Lula met us at the church in all black. Her hair toned down from hot pink to magenta to reflect the solemnity of the occasion. Briggs showed up not long after. I didn't see Tank, or much of a Rangeman presence, but that didn't mean anything. Most of Rangeman could be the wind almost as well as Ranger.

I sent Grandma and Lula into the church with Briggs and took up a spot across the street so that I could watch for Poletti. Ranger gave me a com to put in my ear so I could hear what was going on. Several guys gave call signs to signify they were in position.

"Who's on Briggs?" Ranger asked.

"I've got eyes," Tank answered. "He's hung out in a visible spot in case anybody wants to take a potshot at him."

Ranger wasn't the eyerolling type, but I could tell he was thinking about it. "Not likely with the police presence. Just keep peeled. With any luck we can get Poletti wrapped up with minimal effort."

I got a text from Lula when the service ended. _We're staying with the dead lady. So far no one's wanted short stuff, but he's gotten a bunch of dirty looks from a lot of people. He don't seem to be real popular._ I showed Ranger the text and he thought about smiling.

We waited across the street while Mrs. Poletti was carried out to the hearse. Poletti's oldest son was a pallbearer, but his youngest son was following behind. There were bandages on his hands from his recreational emergency room visit. The family followed the hearse first, and then the rest of the mourners. Grandma and Briggs rode with Lula, while Ranger and me took the Mercedes as the processional moved in a long caravan to the cemetery. We parked on the road and walked with the others to the gravesite.

"Target spotted," a voice said in my ear. "He's alone. Silver Honda on the other side of the hill. He's approaching at nine o'clock."

I craned my neck, but I didn't see him. "Nine o'clock is that way," Ranger said. "Behind the maple."

I turned and saw Jimmy Poletti partly obscured by the tree, looking solemn in his dark suit. "I feel bad that we're taking him down at his mother's funeral."

"Babe, he shot a firebomb into your apartment."

"We don't know for sure it was him."

"Do you want to let him walk?"

"No, but it would be nice if we could wait until the ceremony is over to grab him."

"I'm willing to wait. I can't speak for the undercover guys."

"Do you think they see him?"

"Not yet, but it's only a matter of time. He's creeping closer."

I watched Jimmy getting braver and cut a look to the cluster of mourners. There were a dozen or so folding chairs for the family. The rest was standing room only. Briggs was shifting. His view was mostly asses and the backs of knees from where he stood, and I could tell he was getting bored. Looking around to find anything worth holding his focus. I saw it when he stiffened. "Omigod. Briggs just spotted Jimmy."

Ranger went for him, but he was too far away.

"It's him!" Briggs yelled, pointing to Poletti. "You son of a bitch!"

There was a scandalized pause, priest and mourners looking from Briggs to the maple tree. Poletti went dear in the headlights.

The undercover guys broke his way first and Poletti panic-ran the only direction that was clear. Right for the grave. The geriatric attendants all scrambled to get out of the way. Leaving Briggs, Lula, and Grandma to stand their ground, both women fishing through their purses for their guns. From the look of him, Briggs was seeing too much red to think about guns.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You blew up my apartment, you moron!"

"You fucked my wife! I hate you!"

"Everybody fucks your wife! I don't see you blowing up _everybody's_ apartment. It's because I'm short, isn't it?"

Poletti let out a war cry and barreled at Briggs full-tilt. They tumbled onto the bright faux grass apron that surrounded the grave, biting and snapping. Racoon fighting a possum. Ranger interceded and snatched Briggs off Poletti, flipped Poletti over to cuff him. Then the three cops took over.

"Well, that was fun." Ranger checked his watch. "And we have just enough time to follow him to the police station to get your body receipt before we go see the doctor."

ooo

I didn't have to undress this time when I sat on the crinkly paper. Better yet, I wasn't fresh from getting blown up or dropped off a bridge either. The doctor gave me a careful scan when he came in, sparing Ranger a brief glance. "You're both very dressed up for a Thursday morning."

"We were at a funeral," I told him.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Who passed?"

"The mother of a skip."

"So, you're still in the field?"

"It's my job to find them. Ranger assigns me partners who do the take down."

The doctor nodded his approval. "Tell me about this polonium," he said as he started the physical exam. I laid back as he instructed and gave him the redacted version of what happened with Gardi while he measured the growth of my belly and listened to the baby's heartbeat. "I won't ask how you came to need answers out of someone who received a lethal dose of a rare radioactive poison," he said. "We'll keep a close watch to make sure, but it sounds like you should be in the clear. You're even outside the weeks of gestation that would have been most at risk. Do you have any other concerns?" I shook my head. "Well then, let's get out the camera and see if Junior's ready for a closeup."

Ranger's hand was around mine while we looked at the screen. Watching the movements of the person we'd made. The doctor took pictures from every angle. Pointed it out when he got a shot of the baby sucking his thumb. "I'm not having any luck getting a peek at gender," he said after several minutes of searching.

"Is that normal?"

"It happens. Sometimes we can get a clear view, and sometimes baby's turned a different way or has crossed legs. It's not medically necessary, but if knowing the gender is important to you we could try 4-D imaging. You'd need to make a special appointment for that, though."

Ranger looked down at me. "How bad do you want to know, Babe?"

"I guess it can wait a bit longer. But I won't lie, I wanna know bad."

Ranger's eyes crinkled at the corner. "You know we're going to find out eventually regardless."

I elbowed him in the stomach and he laughed.

The Turbo was waiting in the lot for us in place of the Mercedes. I was good with this. I loved the Mercedes, but the Turbo was sex on wheels. I don't get to go to New York as often as I would like. Mostly because until Ranger and I got together, I had no time and no money. So I was excited about the trip. I was even more excited to be going with Ranger. We hadn't been anywhere as a couple since we came back from Hawaii. The fact this trip was to take care of dangerous business did nothing to dampen my spirits.

Ranger took the Turnpike to the Lincoln Tunnel and parked in the lot on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, not far from the Gatewell Hotel. The lobby was beautiful. Lots of black and white and silver. Ranger went to the front desk and showed the manager his identification and his right-to-recover papers for Emilio Gardi.

"We have reason to believe he stayed in this hotel," Ranger told him.

"The FBI have already asked about him," the manager said. "They were here yesterday."

"This is a different issue. I represent his family and his bondsman."

"I don't have much information on him. He stayed here for one night last week. His room was prepaid in cash. There were no additional charges. No credit card on file."

"Do you have the name or phone number of the person who made the reservation?"

"There's nothing on record, but one of the young men on the front desk remembered the transaction. The man making the reservation did it in person two days in advance and prepaid in full. He stood out because he had a slight British accent and an odd tattoo on his neck. A skull and a flower."

Ranger thanked him and we went to the lounge just off the lobby, ordered sandwiches off the bar menu. "Is Vlatko British?" I asked Ranger when we'd settled at a high-top table.

"He's Russian, but he speaks fluent English that's more British than American."

"Do you speak Russian?"

"I understand some Russian, but I speak very little."

"There has to be a reason he chose this hotel."

"There's a large Russian community here on the West Side. I'm guessing he has ties to something nearby. A relative or friend. A job. A woman."

I flagged down the guy working behind the counter when we'd finished our lunch. "Do you get a lot of Russians staying here?"

"Sure. There's a satellite arm of the Russian consulate about a block from here, on 75th Street. They host trade shows and small VIP parties. They recommend us to visitors."

I thanked him and followed Ranger out of the hotel. We walked one block to 75th. Found a building with a plaque in both Russian and English. It was a low key building. No Russian flags or anything. The door was locked.

We took a step back to get a better look from across the street. Ranger called Tank and gave him the consulate's address. Asked him to research the week's events. Minutes later, Tank texted Ranger the consulate's schedule.

"There's a trade show going on this week for Russian vodka. This consulate will be hosting a meet-and-greet party at five o'clock. That's as good a cover as any, assuming we can garner ourselves an invitation."

The party didn't start for a couple hours. That gave us plenty of time to find an in. We went back to our high-top table in the Gatewell lounge to watch the room. There were four men at the bar. Two of them looked like the cartoon versions of Russian vodka salesmen. Large red noses, too much flesh, laughing too loud over their vodka. And they were speaking Russian.

"You need to introduce yourself to those men," Ranger said. "It would help break the ice if you opened your jacket and gave them more to look at. Might compensate for the fact you don't speak Russian."

"You don't think it'll be a deal breaker that I'm pregnant?"

"Not in that top."

"What if they don't speak English?"

"They probably speak enough to get by."

I went into the ladies room and looked at myself in the mirror. My camisole was already low cut, showing off more assets than I'd ever had before, but if I was going to keep them from noticing I was nearing third trimester I needed to kick it up a notch. I adjusted the top to show a little hint of white lace bra. Decided to up the ante. I dug around in my bag and found a half dozen bags of assorted candies. Boy. There was something poetic about me stuffing my bra with M&Ms and Skittles.

I added some toilet paper and made some adjustments until I was nearly popping out, then gave them a test wiggle to make sure I was secure enough to avoid a wardrobe malfunction. Good as gold. I reapplied my eyeliner and doubled my mascara until I had babydoll eyes. Tamed my hair with a little water, and gave it a shake to encourage the curls. Ranger always responded to the messy waves. Especially the ones that looked like we'd just spent several hours in bed getting them sweaty. If I was very lucky and my targets slightly drunk, I might just pull this off.

Last thing was a new coat of bright red lipstick. I took a step back to get the total effect in the full length mirror. Yikes! Good thing my mother wasn't here or I'd be grounded. Unfortunate I was too pregnant to wear the stunning pair of bright red fuck-me-pumps I had at home. That would have pushed this over the top.

I tried to find the right attitude on the walk back to Ranger. Something more hunting lioness than prairie chicken. I went with what I hoped was a confident stride. Stephanie Plum, cunning sexpot, about to embark on a dangerous mission.

Ranger's eyes dilated total black when I approached the table. "What do you think?"

"Babe, if I told you what I think we'd be getting a room upstairs and saying Vlatko who."

"I feel I should warn you I've got half a candy store in my bra."

"I wouldn't share that with the men at the bar." He gave me the tiny earbud I'd had during the funeral. "You can stay connected to me with this."

"Will you be able to hear what I'm saying?"

"Yes."

I stuck the earbud in my ear and sashayed over to the bar.

Here was the tricky part. If I didn't slide onto the stool just right, every inch of baby bump would be on display when my jacket fell open. Not quite the icebreaker Ranger'd been hoping for. I was careful to keep my bag between us and skootched onto the seat. Making of show of crossing my legs. I might be six months pregnant, but I had fantastic legs. I let the skirt ride up halfway to my doo-dah, and asked the bartender for a champagne cocktail.

Conversation stopped, and both men looked my way. The one next to me turned, showing a gold capped molar behind his wolf smile. He said something in Russian. I gave him an apologetic smile and a palms up gesture. Bimbo for _I no speak that language_. I threw in a cute little shrug that accentuated my assets, drawing his full attention.

"My name is Leo Stolchi," he said with a thick accent. "I sees you do not speak Russian."

"Honey, I have enough problems with English."

My joke stuck the landing. As did his eyes when they traced from my boobs to my legs. "You are very pretty."

I let out an internal breath. He hadn't noticed the baby! "Well, thank you. Aren't you sweet." My drink arrived, and Leo told the bartender to put it on his bill. "And generous!" I said.

Leo looked unsure. "What is 'generous'?"

"It's like… rich. You must be rich."

"Ah! Yes, very very rich. I make the best vodka in all Russian. I am very important businessman."

My eyes cut to Ranger on their own when I smiled. Jackpot!

"Do you know that man?" Leo asked.

Crap! Busted. "He's a family friend."

"He look like a bad man."

"He has his moments." The silence in my ear persisted, but I could have swore I heard him smile. "Are you a guest at the hotel?"

"Yes. It close to the consulate building where will take place the meetings. There is party soon."

"I love parties," I said, batting the babydoll lashes.

"This good one. They serve my vodka." He looked at his watch. "I should go."

Damn! I was losing him. I put my hand on his leg. "That's too bad. I was having fun with you."

The wolf grin was back. "Fun is good. I will no be gone long. Two hours."

How thick was this guy? I inched my hand up his thigh and leaned closer, giving him a full view of the girls. "I've always wanted to go to a vodka party with an important businessman. Then maybe we could keep the party going after when we come back to the hotel."

He looked like he'd hit the jackpot too. "Yes! This is perfect plan." Then the smile faded a touch. "What about family friend?"

"Maybe he could come to the party with us. He loves vodka."

"I guesses that okay. He no party with us _after_ , is he?"

"Not unless you want him to. He's gay, you know."

"He no look gay."

"Of course he does. His skin is flawless and his haircut is perfect. And look at those muscles. Only two types of men have muscles like that. Body builders and gay guys. And body builders don't dress that classy."

Leo nodded like this made perfect sense.

We stopped at Ranger's table and invited him to join us at the party. Then we made our way to the consulate. The man at the door checked Leo's invitation. I held my breath when he looked at Ranger and me, exchanging a brief conversation. After a second, he waved us in.

"See?" Leo said. "No problems. As said, I am very important businessman."

"So impressive," I said.

The party was being held in a modest ballroom on the ground floor. Fancy waiters and a full bar. Men, mostly in their fifties, in black business suits, walked around with women in cocktail dresses on their arms. Most looked like mid to high level call girls. I figured I might fit into the mid-level range. Leo tugged me toward the bar. "You see bottle with red label? That is my vodka," he said proudly. "You must drink some, yes?"

Oh boy.

I wasn't given much of a choice when the bartender poured out two shots and Leo pushed one toward me. I didn't see Ranger. He'd vanished the second we got in, off to snoop through higher floors. I looked from Leo's grin to the shot glass. Held it up to mirror his toast. Put it to my tightly pressed lips and let some of it dribble, splashing onto my ample breasts. "Oh, dear. I'm so clumsy!" Leo grabbed a napkin and started feeling me up, but I took it from him. "I've got it. I just need to freshen up. Would you point me toward the ladies room please," I said to the bartender. He indicated the far side of the room. "I'll only be a minute. I'm sure, as important as you are, you have a lot of people to talk to."

"I should do this. You come back here, yes? I haves big plans. Leo that kind of guy. I much known to be big."

"Good to know."

He stepped away and I started for the ladies room, searching every guest I passed for one eye or a neck tattoo. "Where are you?" I asked Ranger.

"Third floor. Checking my email. How'd you get out of drinking the vodka?"

"Spilled half of it down my cleavage."

"A wet t-shirt that'll get you drunk. That's most men's dream."

"Yuck it up, James Bond. Next time you can be the honeypot who seduces the Russian vodka guy and _I'll_ be the cat burglar."

"Pretty sure I wouldn't have been his type, Babe. Even if I am dressed too classy to be a body builder."

"I'm heading into the ladies room now, smartass. Over and out."

I heard him chuckle.

I made it to the bathroom and used paper towels to blot what I could. The vodka had soaked into my underwire. I lifted my camisole top to reach my bra and a high class woman in a second skin green dress came in, eyeing my belly like it was contraband. I smiled, trying not to look suspicious. She cut me a few sideways looks while she checked her hair and reapplied her lipstick. Then she walked out, leaving me alone. I let out my breath in a rush. "How's it going now?" I asked Ranger.

"I'm on the top floor, but I'm limited. There are security cameras everywhere. I might have to get creative."

I ran some water to wash my hands and the earbud fell out of my ear and down the drain.

"Crap!"

I hauled out my cellphone and texted Ranger. _Bad news. Your earbud just went down the drain._

 _It was only a matter of time_ , he texted back.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed my bag, stepping out into the long hallway that would lead to the front of the building. All I caught was movement out of the side of my eye before a hand was around my throat, knocking me back against the wall. "I know who you are," he said. "Nice of Manoso to deliver you like this."

I didn't need to hear the light British accent or see the skull and flower tattoo visible just above the collar of his white shirt, or the scar that slashed his brow and onto his cheek under the black eyepatch. I knew who I was facing from the way the atmosphere crackled. My skin going gooseflesh as I met his stare. He was younger than I'd expected. Not much older than Ranger. Shorter and slimmer. Boyish, if it weren't for the hint of lines around his eyes. A psychopath you would be inclined to trust. Ash blond hair fell over his forehead, dusting the lashes of his one, cold, ice blue eye. The eye that watched me with a glimmer of amused pleasure.

I wanted desperately to say something clever to prove I wasn't afraid, but my mouth was too dry.

"He's in the building," Vlatko said. "I saw him on the exterior video feed. He's searching for me, isn't he?" He smiled. "This could be more fun than watching the aerosol destroy everything he values."

"Why are you doing this now, after all these years?"  
"Convenience. I'm not the brash, reckless type who would go to lengths just to settle a score, but when an opportunity is dropped in my lap I would be foolish not to kill two birds with one stone," he said, snicking open a switchblade, the tip pressing into my skin as he dragged a long, slow line up my belly, "so to speak."

Oh god.

He knew.

The smile turned wicked when he leaned closer. "Oh yes. I know everything. I've been watching him for years, waiting for the right moment, the right set of circumstances, to finish what I started in Korea. I'm going to kill him. But not all at once. First, he can watch you die. You _and_ his unborn child. And then I'll take his eye before I take his life. Polonium is elegant as a tool of assassination, but this will be much more satisfying."

"That's sick."

"Not in my profession."

"Your profession is sick!"

"You need something to show Manoso," he said, grazing his cold stare down every inch of my body. "A small appetizer before he's treated to the main course."

He slashed the switchblade into my breast, right through my silk camisole, my bra, and into the improvised stuffing. A cascade of skittles spilled out, bouncing off the knife and ticketing out across the floor in a scatter of rainbow.

The most bizarre experience of my life, and believe me that's saying something.

He swung an incredulous look to me and we just stared at each other a beat. And then a pair of heels clacked toward us from the party room. A woman wandered into the hall. Two men behind her.

Vlatko turned without another word and vanished through a door across the hall.


	57. Chapter 57

AU of Top Secret 21, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Ranger

He was only two thirds of the way through searching the top floor when Steph texted him. _Vlatko is in the building. I'll meet you out front_. Shit. Steph had seen him, on her own and without backup. It had been a calculated risk, leaving her at the crowded party. She should have been safe enough. But of course, Steph being Steph, she'd been in the right place at the wrong time and made contact with a man who used to expose entrails for a living.

And now she was walking away from safety-in-numbers to leave the building unprotected.

Something about seeing Vlatko had spooked her.

Ranger finished disabling the security camera that covered the front door and took the fastest route to the stairwell. Hit the ground floor and searched out Stephanie, falling into pace behind her just as she made the street. "He's probably watching us on the outside video feed," she said.

"I pulled the plug on the feed, but he could be watching from a window." His eyes fell on her top. Half the size it had been on arrival. "You lost some weight. I wouldn't think a little vodka would ruin half a candy store."

"Long story. I'll tell you in the car."

He didn't like the clipped way she'd said it. She was rattled. Took a hell of a lot to rattle Stephanie Plum. "Give me the cliffnotes version."

"Vlatko knows who I am and that we're having a baby."

He shut down every feeling at the first hint of fear. "You spoke to him?" Nod. "It wasn't the vodka, was it?"

Bit her lip. "He said it was an appetizer."

Ranger pulled her closer to the building so no one would see from the street. Opened her jacket. Her camisole was slashed from armpit to nipple, showing a pucker of bra padding edged with red. He made as discreet an examination as he could and found a long but shallow graze on her breast. "He was aiming to do damage and the candy store got in the way."

"There were skittles everywhere."

"Babe, I'm not in a joking mood."

"No shit. But the jokes make it easier keep from freaking out."

At any other moment he might be tempted to agree with her, but Steph bleeding always had a predictable effect on his sense of humor. He gave her the Porsche keys. "Take the car and go home. I'm going to stay and stake out the building. There's no rear exit. He has to come out this way."

"I'll stay and help you."

"Not necessary. I've already asked Tank to send men. They should be halfway here by now."

"I thought you didn't want me out of your sight."

He didn't. In fact, the idea of putting her in a car and sending her back to Trenton was high enough on his shit list that it was impossible to keep the discomfort of it locked down in its proper compartment. But even higher on his shit list was having her in harm's way, and letting her stay in the city after such a personal run in with a psychopath was most definitely in harm's way. Ranger got tunnel vision when he was in hunt mode. Used to be a good thing. Single goal. Mission focus. Putting everything on the line to finish things with an intensity just short of death wish. But he had so much more than his own life to lose now. He couldn't risk the tunnel vision with her again, and he couldn't afford to split his focus. Not with someone like Vlatko.

This was only going to end one way. Steph couldn't be around for that.

"I have to see this through. I'd be more comfortable if you were in Trenton."

"Should I wait at the safehouse?"

"I may not be back tonight." He saw the hesitation. Steph had barely tolerated the setup when he'd been there to soothe her, and even then she'd slept so badly she had nightmares. No way she'd be okay sleeping there alone. With Steph's flight risk tendencies, there was a high chance she'd bolt if the pressure got to her. "This may be the only time you'd be better off staying at Morelli's. You'll be less stressed, and he can protect you. If Vlatko slips by us, I don't want you vulnerable at your mother's house."

She opened her mouth to argue that she could take care of herself, but he still had his hand inside her jacket, tracing bare breast through the slash in her clothes with his fingertips. He saw the moment pass. "Vlatko wants to finish the job he started in Korea, but the way he said it it didn't seem to be his primary reason for being here. He said he was killing two birds with one stone. He also called polonium 'an elegant tool for assassination'. He was so excited about the idea of going head to head with you, I can't imagine poisoning your building was his idea of a perfect revenge. It only makes sense if using the polonium on Rangeman was a dry run for something bigger."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. But it can't be good."

ooo

Steph

Leaving Ranger in New York felt like I'd left a part of me behind, but deep down I knew he was right. I wasn't equip to deal with Vlatko, and I had the stinging mark on my breast to prove it. I'd fought psycos before, but Vlatko wasn't a raving madman or a crazed but not too bright mercenary. I could see the cunning in his eye when he looked at me. Like I was a mouse he'd caught and intended to dissect.

I called Morelli when I got to the Turnpike. "I'm driving so I'm not supposed to be on the phone, but I wanted to see if the offer of a guest room is still on the table."

"Yeah, of course. You're bailing on Ranger already?"

"He has business in New York tonight and he won't be home."

"And how many gaskets will he blow when he finds out you spent the night with me?"

"Actually, it was his idea."

"Didn't see that coming. I'm afraid to ask what he's up to that made him see staying with me as the safe option."

"I'll tell you about it when I get there."

"Is it safe to assume Briggs is good now that Poletti's off the streets?"

"I haven't talked to him yet, but it's a good bet."

"That's the best news I've gotten all day. I grilled hotdogs for dinner. Should I save the leftovers for you, or feed them to Bob?"

"Save me a couple. I'm about an hour away."

I called Briggs next to make sure he didn't need my help anymore. He said his cousin Eddie was willing to take him in now that he wasn't a firebomb magnet. Not a moment too soon, either. Another day and Tank might have stuffed Briggs in a crate and shipped him to Bermuda with a label that says DO NOT RETURN.

My Mercedes was in Morelli's driveway when I got there, a Rangeman duffle bag on the front seat containing my clothes and a fresh cache of healthy snacks from Ella. I didn't see a fleet vehicle, but I figured it was only a matter of time. I went inside to greet Bob, then went in search of my hotdogs.

Morelli sucked in a breath when I took off my jacket. Took me a second to remember the gash in my shirt. It was ringed with dried blood. "Psychopath encounter," I explained to Morelli.

"Is that who Ranger's hunting in New York?"

"In a manner of speaking."

"Was this a run of the mill psychopath or do you know this one by name?"

"Ranger and I went to New York to follow a lead on the guy who planned the polonium attack. Vlatko. I had a run in with him, and he sort of slashed me."

"Where was Ranger when this was happening?"

"He was snooping around the upper floors of the Russian consulate."

Morelli looked like his left arm might have gone numb. "Tell me you weren't in the consulate with him."

"It was a party. Technically I was there with a Russian vodka maker."

"How do you know a Russian vodka maker?"

"I picked him up in a bar."

"I need to sit down. I think I'm hallucinating. You _do_ know you're six months pregnant, right?"

"Uh-huh. I have the new ultrasound pictures in my bag. Wait, are you saying I'm not hot enough to pick a guy up in a bar just because I'm pregnant?"

"Steph, you could be full term with triplets and still be hot. I'm just having trouble wrapping my head around you picking up a Russian guy in the bar. In front of Ranger."

"It was the only way to get into the building. We weren't able to catch Vlatko, but Ranger has him pinned down in the consulate. They're going to stake out the building until he comes out."

"Does _they_ include the FBI?"

I wouldn't hold my breath on that. I couldn't see Ranger running the risk they'd freeze him out or take over. "I don't know. I left right after Vlatko slashed me."

"Do you ever think about maternity leave?"

"Sometimes."

"And?"

"Do you honestly think the craziness would stop just because I went on maternity leave?"

"That's a fair point. You've tried quitting the bounty hunter gig before. You wound up exploding a drycleaner and burning down a Cluck-in-the-Bucket."

"That happened one time."

A grin finally ticked up one corner of Morelli's mouth. The other followed with a light chuckle. "This baby of yours is gonna be a handful. I bet he'll give even Ranger a run for his money."

"Maybe you too," I said quietly. I hadn't planned to say it. It just popped out. But the way it made Morelli arch his eyebrow forced a resigned sigh from me. "Ranger brought up God parents a couple months ago," I told him. "After we'd crashed your family party to ask about Sunny. Ranger wanted to know who might be on my short list. Specifically, if _you_ were on my short list."

"And what did you tell him?"

"I told him I hadn't thought about it yet."

"How would he take it if I was? Because I'll be honest, until today I would have assumed he'd want you to have nothing to do with me, and yet here you are sleeping over, telling me it was his idea."

"It's complicated. But as far as the list, he was actually okay with it. Said at least you'd be more responsible than Lula."

"No arguments there."

I picked at my hotdog a second. "Would that be weird?" I asked.

"Would it be weird for you?"

"I honestly don't know."

"So, I'd be what. Uncle Joe?"

"Maybe?"

"And Ranger's pick would be…"

"Tank."

"Obviously."

Hard to tell what might be going through his mind, since I wasn't brave enough to look at him.

Joe was quiet a minute. "I could always tell you had the hots for him, but it's more than that isn't it. You're not just with him because of the baby. You're in love with him."

I shrugged. But the moment was so honest it felt like a lie not to say it. "Yes."

"I don't mean in love with him like you were in love with me. I mean really in love with him."

I couldn't not look at him any longer. I saw the hurt when I met in his eyes. Maybe some bruised ego. But mostly I saw affection. Morelli and I might have been dynamite when we were together, explosive and volatile, but we'd had our good parts too. A casual kind of relationship that was more best friends with benefits sometimes than boyfriend and girlfriend. He cared about me. "Yes. I'm really in love with him."

"And all that stuff that used to freak you out about us. The parts about being a housewife, or a stay at home mom. Two point five kids and a white picket fence. You're just good with all that now?"

"I don't know. Ranger's never brought it up."

"Because the relationship stuff on the table is all your choice?"

I was surprised he'd remembered that word for word. "We mostly take things a day at a time."

"Because that's what you're comfortable with."

"It's not me, it's Ranger."

"Okay, I'm calling bullshit on that. Ranger might be crazy and cryptic as hell, but he's about as devoted at they come. I've been looking long and hard since you got with him, hoping to find reasons to hate him, and what I've seen is a guy who's willing to go to extraordinary lengths to keep you safe and happy. You don't do that if you're only taking things one day at a time."

"He'll never marry me," I said softly.

"You're sure about that?"

I was about to say yes. But the truth was I didn't know anymore. He'd once said he wasn't going to do anything stupid, like marriage or pregnancy. They were points of no return in a relationship that linked two people together forever, no matter how things turned out. Well, that ship had sailed. We were already a family, and he'd never once bat an eye or shown hesitation about preparing for our child's future. If anything, he was looking forward to it.

Oh god. Was it me?

Morelli must have seen that I was on the edge of existential crisis. "It's alright, cupcake. You'll figure it out. Hey, why don't I grab you a bottle of water and me a beer and we'll go watch some TV. Okay?"

"Okay."

ooo

Morelli

Steph took her hot dogs to the couch in the living room, looking only slightly less shell-shocked than she had a minute ago. Self-reflection had never been one of her life skills. Not that he was any better. It was probably why they'd been stuck in a loop their whole relationship. Neither of them had really been mature enough to take it seriously, and yet they'd both been too stubborn to let go.

She'd sure as hell let it go now.

Joe hit the fridge and followed her. Found Bob begging with his best Pathetic Bob face drooling all over her leg. "You already had yours," he scolded, "and Stephanie needs these way more than you do. Jesus, with a face like that you'd think he'd never been fed in his life."

Steph laughed and ruffled the mass of wooly mammoth hair while she scarfed the hotdogs down. Bob finally flopped to the floor when the possibility of mooching dropped to zero. Steph slumped back into the couch looking satisfied, propping her feet up on the table. The way she was stretched out exaggerated the baby bump. He couldn't help but chuckle. She shot him suspicious glare. "What?"

"Nothing. You just look like you're smuggling a volley ball."

"Are you saying I'm fat?"

"I'm saying it might just be the cutest damn thing I've ever seen."

She rolled her eyes like a champion and reached into her bag. Handed him an ultrasound photo. "You want to see cute, that's him sucking his thumb."

"So it's a boy?"

"We don't really know yet. The doctor hasn't gotten a clear shot. At this rate we might have to wait till he's born to know for sure." She gave him the roll and settled back again, rubbing her belly. "You know, I'm kind of surprised this doesn't feel more awkward."

"Maybe we already used up our supply of awkward for the year."

"Maybe." She paused. Finding a specific spot on her belly. She smiled. "He's kicking."

"Oh yeah?"

Steph nodded. Then she took his hand and putting it on the spot. They were both surprised by the impulse for a second, and then he felt the nudging under his fingers and any sense of weirdness was forgotten.

He'd been around when his brother Anthony's wife was pregnant. His sister Angela. Angela had invited him to feel the baby kick a few times with her first, but he'd had his head too far up his ass back then to take her up on it. Now here he was, sharing the moment with a woman he used to think would be his wife one day. Maybe carry his kid. And he didn't feel any of the jealousy he woulda thought. It was more like… peace.

He looked into those sexy blue eyes of hers and realized, even if she wasn't his anymore, she was still the best friend he'd ever had.

"Uncle Joe, huh?"

"It has a nice ring to it."

"I'm still wrapping my head around Ranger being okay with this."

She could only shrug. "He trusts us."

"Well, that sucks. I never asked him to trust me."

"Too bad. That's what you get for being trustworthy."

"So do you know how long you'll be staying? I haven't heard any word on when Rangeman will be cleared."

"I'm not sure. Ranger could be back tomorrow. Although as much as I miss him it wasn't all that easy to sleep at the satellite office. The bed was okay, but there isn't a lot of privacy. I've been exhausted ever since. And my feet are killing me," she said. "Though that probably has more to do with the being pregnant and on my feet all day than it does being tired."

His turn to roll his eyes. "Give 'em here."

"Are you sure?"

"It's not a hardship to rub a pregnant lady's feet. It's more a public service."

She went all squinty-eyed, but in the end the temptation won out and she swung her feet into his lap, laying back against the armrest.

By the time he was done with foot number two, she was out cold.

Morelli gathered Stephanie into his arms and carried her up the stairs to the guest room. Tucked her in and kissed her forehead. Then he backed out and shut the door.

God. How was he ever gonna find another girl as incredible as Stephanie Plum?


	58. Chapter 58

AU of Top Secret 21, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Fifty-Eight

Steph

Morelli was already gone when I woke up in his guest room the next morning, scents of coffee and toast still drifting up the stairs. I peeled the covers back. I was still in the slashed clothes I'd shown up in last night. If Ranger had put me to bed, he would have stripped off everything but my underwear and put me in one of his t-shirts. Morelli had just covered me with blankets.

It felt like there was a metaphor in there. I just wasn't exactly sure what it was.

I went downstairs and grabbed the Rangeman duffle bag. Ate one of the healthy snacks Ella had packed for me while I carried it upstairs to take a shower. I dressed in my maternity jeans and a stretchy gray shirt that said _Turning Food into a Human is Exhausting_ , and checked my phone. No calls from Ranger. I checked the street through Morelli's front window. A black Rangeman SUV was waiting at the curb. Ranger's 911 was gone.

I locked up using the key Morelli had given me when we were dating and walked out to my Mercedes. The SUV followed me to the bonds office.

"Wow," Lula said when I walked in with Hal and Binky. "You got two of Ranger's guys with you today. Is this a special occasion or did you screw up?"

"It could be because Ranger's out of town. He spent the night in New York."

"And where did you spend the night?"

"Morelli's."

"Say what?"

"It wasn't like that. Morelli and I are friends, and Ranger was more comfortable with this than he was with me staying at my parents' house, because at least Morelli has a gun. It was actually kind of nice. We talked through some things. I think we might have found an understanding."

"If you say so," Connie said, handing me a new file. "This should be an easy one. It says armed robbery because she cleaned out the cannoli display at gunpoint."

I opened the folder. "Her face is covered in chocolate in her booking photo."

Connie shrugged. "Guess she really needed a cannoli."

I took Lula with me, so Hal and Binky followed us in the Chevy Tahoe. Connie was right about it being easy. She didn't try to run or give me any trouble. Not until she went inside to change into proper close and decided to empty an entire clip into a photo of her cheating ex-husband. Binky went in, weapon drawn, and disarmed her. Then walked her cuffed and cooperative out to the Tahoe for the ride to the municipal building. We were all back at the office an hour later when Briggs staggered in through the door, dragging his duffle bag and looking like a roasted marshmallow.

"Holy cats," Lula said. "It's like Tire Fire is his new personal style choice."

"Someone blew up my car," Briggs said. "I was just coming out of my cousin's house and used my remote starter so that I could get the air going, and then _Kaboom!_ A big fireball knocks me on my ass."

"At least your ass is already pretty close to the ground."

"How did this happen? Poletti is in jail!"

"Maybe it wasn't Poletti," I said.

"How could it not be Poletti? I saw him when he tried to run me over. He shot at me."

"Who else's wife did you sleep with?" Lula asked him.

"Recently?"

Lula looked at me. "And we're supposed to be keeping him from getting a rocket shot up his butt because…"

"So why are you here?" I asked him. "I already did my part, I caught Poletti."

"My cousin kicked me out because of the fire and I need a place to stay."

"Oh no. Been there, done that."

"You gotta help me out. I don't even have a car to sleep in anymore."

"Try the bus station, I hear they have benches."

"Please? I'm desperate!"

I grunted out a sigh and cut him a glare that said _no promises_. Stepped outside and called Ranger. "Are you still in New York?"

"I'm on my way home. Vlatko left the consulate this morning with two other men and got into a car. We tried to tail, but we lost them in traffic. I left Rich and Silvestor there to watch the building, but I doubt Vlatko will be back."

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Babe."

"Besides that."

"Barring fortunate opportunity, even that'll have to wait. How was your night with Morelli?"

"It was good. I feel very rested and I even got a foot rub. If you're heading back, should I plan to go to the safehouse tonight?"

"We'll play it by ear. It'll depend on if I'm able to pick up Vlatko's trail."

"Briggs is homeless again. Somebody blew up his car, and it wasn't Poletti."

"He just makes friends everywhere."

"Could we put him back in the motel?"

"Tank wouldn't like that, and I can't spare him, even if there isn't much body to hide."

I dropped him a _love you_ and got a _Babe_ in return, and then he disconnected. I went back into the office. Briggs was slumped in one of the cheap orange plastic chairs in the waiting area, his duffle between his feet.

"Okay, let's figure this out. Someone besides Poletti wants you dead. Someone who doesn't want to get his hands dirty. Without the Poletti run in, you've had two rocket-propelled firebombs and a car bomb. Very impersonal. Death from a distance."

"Or it could be someone who likes explosions," Lula said.

"That fits all the poker players," Briggs said. "They were always going out to the Pine Barrens to blow stuff up. One time they blew up a refrigerator. Sometimes they took their kids. Like it was family fun day. Poletti's older kid never went, but the stoner loved it."

"Out of the three poker players that are left, who wants to kill you most? Did you sleep with any of _their_ wives?"

"Only Pepper is married, and his wife's comatose by noon."

"What about Scootch and Tommy Ritt?" Connie asked. "They were shot at close range. How does that fit?"

I shook my head. "It doesn't. We're probably looking at two different perpetrators."

I got a call from Dillan Ruddick on my cellphone. The insurance adjuster would be there any minutes and he thought I might want to do the walkthrough with him. I told him I was on my way. Briggs overheard and offered to help. Mostly I think he was just trying to get in my good graces so I'd take him in again, but I let him come anyway.

The damage didn't look as bad now that the water had been cleaned up and the smoke aired out. It still smelled like there'd been a fire, but it didn't smell as bad as Briggs. I talked to the adjuster while Briggs walked the apartment. He came to me once the adjuster left. "It's not so bad. The kitchen and the bedroom are intact. There's even still food in the refrigerator. You could move back in."

"There's still a hole in the wall behind that plywood. And Dillan's going to repaint. I can't breathe that, it's not good for the baby."

"I wouldn't mind the paint smell. I could live here until you want to come back."

This was much better than having to deal with Briggs at Morelli's, or finding him a corner somewhere if I went back to the safehouse. Rangeman had to be unquarantined soon. Way before the apartment was habitable again. "Sure. But you have to leave when the carpet goes in."

"I'm okay with that. So you're gonna help me find the creep who's trying to kill me?"

"That's a job for the police. I was only looking for Poletti because he skipped out on his bond."

"But you're so good at this."

"Where would I even start?"

"Well, you know where Buster is, and how to find Pepper. That should be a start. Either of them could think I know something about the business in Mexico."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What _did_ you know about the business in Mexico? Did you know about the girls?"

"No, I swear. I might not have a lot of morals, but I have a conscience. I didn't know what they were into in Mexico, or who they were into it with. I mostly knew about the money."

"What about the money."

"There was a lot of it."

"In Mexico?"

"Yeah. But I don't know exactly where. Not exactly, only approximately."

"Good grief. Fine, I'll talk to Buster. But if I find out you're not telling me the complete truth I'll hand you over to Tank and they won't ever find your body."

"Boy. Anybody ever tell you you're scary?"

"Sometimes. But I think they usually mean my hair."

ooo

I left Briggs at the apartment and went to pick up Lula. As far as partners in crime go she was unpredictable, but she's full of gusto and always had my back, so it worked for us. We weren't planning on picking anyone up, so we left the Tahoe at the office and Hal and Binky piled into the Mercedes. It would be less of a target on Stark street.

Binky stayed with the Mercedes and Hal marched up to Buster's building with Lula and me. I rang the buzzer on Buster's intercom. "Talk to me," Buster yelled.

"It's Stephanie Plum," I said. "I came to show you my breasts."

Hal swung an alarmed look at me and I shook my head to say I was bluffing. He turned a delicate shade of pink anyway. Especially when the door buzzed open.

"That works good," Lula said. "That's better than the pizza delivery thing. I gotta remember this."

Hal tried to go first, gun drawn, but I convinced him to stay back. Buster was mostly harmless and I didn't want him spooked. We found him waiting for us at the top of the stairs. "Two for the price of one."

"Bad news," I told him. "I lied about the breasts."

"How about her?" he pointed to Lula. "I'd rather see hers anyway."

"Sure," Lula said. She pulled one out of her tanktop and I clapped my hands over my eyes and whipped a look at Hal. Pretty sure he'd swallowed a bug.

"Holy crap," Buster said. "That's massive."

"And because I'm in a good mood I'm not even going to charge you for looking," she said, stuffing herself back into her top.

"I came to talk about Briggs," I told him. "There have been three attempts on his life so far and I'm not interested in there being another one."

"Because you and him have a thing?" he said, looking down at my pregnant belly.

"No! Because the second one was a rocket that blew up my apartment and I take that personally."  
"Well, I don't do rockets."

"Who does do rockets?"

"Could be anyone."

"Okay, let's try this from another angle. Who would want Briggs dead?"

"Just about everyone I know. He snoops where he shouldn't be snooping. He messes around with other people's wives. He's damn annoying. And he can't drive. He's a menace on the road. He kept smashing into my Mercedes with his stupid blue RAV4. God, I hated that car."

"Omigod. You're the car bomber."

"You can't prove that."

"I didn't tell you his car was blown up."

"Okay, there's that. But I don't do rockets. They're dangerous and unpredictable. If someone's shooting at him with rockets, you're looking for somebody else."

"You better hope that's true. I don't actually care if you want to kill Briggs, but I'd better not get another rocket shot into my apartment, or a bomb put under my car. If it happens again and I think you had anything to do with it, I'll come back here and you won't be happy."

"Jeez. Anyone ever tell you that you're scary?"

"It might have been mentioned before."

"Are you sure you don't want to show me your tits? I'll show you mine."

"I'm sure, but if you want you can ask Hal," I said, indicating the massive six foot five wall of muscle on the stairs behind me.

Buster saw him for the first time and blanched. "I'm good."

ooo

I figured Buster was still my best lead, so I asked Binky to stay and stake out his apartment. The rest of us went to the deli on lower Stark for a quick lunch before heading back to the office. Briggs called as soon as we got there, so I sent Lula in to pick up the sandwiches. "What?"

"I need to go food shopping," Briggs said.

"How could you need to go food shopping, the fridge was full of food."

"But most of the stuff in the cupboards got smoke damage. It's inedible."

"I know for a fact the fridge has sandwiches, and salads, and muffins, and—"

"There's no booze. No wine, no beer, no hard liquor."

"There's no coffee either," I told him.

"Jeez, how can you live like this with no wine and no coffee?"

"I'm pregnant. I have more important things to do."

"If you take me to the store I'll never ask for another favor again in my life."

"I'll believe it when I see it. You've got feet, you can walk."

"The stores are too far away and I can't carry much. Please? I'll really owe you one."

It would have taken a better person than me not to roll my eyes. "Fine. There's a liquor store next to the Shop and Bag. Be on the curb in ten minutes. If you're not there, I'll drive away."

I dropped a sandwich off to Binky and took Lula back to the office. Briggs was waiting for me at the back door of my building. He'd changed and showered, but he still reeked of burned rubber. I parked the Mercedes at the strip mall. "I'm not willing to get dirty looks for you, so you're on your own in the liquor store. Do you need any groceries besides coffee?"

"Just some cereal. And not any of that sugary crap you buy. Something a grown up would eat."

I did the grown up thing and stuck my tongue out at him.

Hal went into the store with me. Didn't take long to find the coffee, or the cereal. I considered getting Briggs something high fiber that tasted like cardboard, but in the end my human decency kicked in. I took some time to look over the ice creams and picked out a dog toy for Bob and some cookies for me. I'd just checked out when an explosion rattled the store windows. I ran outside. Black smoke billowed off a flaming inferno, a crowd gathering in a wide circle around Briggs face down on the macadam.

The fireball was were my Mercedes used to be.

Hal got to Briggs before me and carried him away from the blaze. Briggs was conscious, but rattled. Soot blackened and looking like a marshmallow that fell in the campfire. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know. Do I look okay?"

"Yeah. Sure."

"I think the wine was blown up. I put it in the car and decided to check on you because it shouldn't take so long to buy coffee and cereal, and then there was this whooshing sound and then BOOM! I was flying through the air."

I looked back at the burning carcass of my Mercedes. Yep. Armor plating wasn't rated for rockets. Which was unfortunate, since this was the third armor plated vehicle I'd destroyed since I got pregnant. I guess three in six months was slightly better than my usual car destruction rate, but still.

I called Binky. He said Buster hadn't left his apartment. He wasn't responsible.

Ranger called a minute later. "Babe, the tracking mechanism on Mark 3 went dead. Is there a problem?"

"There might have been some mechanical difficulties."

"What kind of mechanical difficulties."

"You can tell the manufacturer it still isn't rated for rockets."

"Stay upwind of the fumes. I'll be there in fifteen."

"Okeydokey."

I could hear the fire engine screaming toward us in the distance. Most of the firemen donned their turnout gear, masks and all, to put out my Mercedes while one of the EMTs stayed to the side to check out Briggs. He had some superficial burns and scrapes, but was otherwise okay. I let him have my cookies as a consolation. A black SUV pulled into the lot not long after and Ranger got out. Took a good look at the smoldering carcass on his walk to me.

"You really know how to send a car off in style."

"Just one of the many services I provide."

"No one was hurt?"

"Nope. Briggs is rattled and a little singed, but he's okay."

"And you?" he asked, wrapping around me. "Are you rattled?"

"I'm always rattled."

"Do we know who did this?"

"I'm working on it. Briggs was the only one out here. I was in the store with Hal. Briggs got out to see what was taking me so long and then the moment went full action movie explosion sequence."

"This was the fourth attempt made on his life."

"Yes. Three firebombs shot from some sort of rocket launcher, and one car bomb."

"Any suspects?"

"Several. The car bomb was Buster Poletti, but I already put the fear of god into him, and I had Binky stay and watch his place. This wasn't him."

"We have two options," Ranger said. "We find the inept amateur who's doing this, or I put a bullet in Brigg's brain and we get on with our lives."

I was pretty sure Ranger wasn't serious about shooting Briggs, but then again, he had a point.

He was looking down at me like he was expecting an answer.

"I'm thinking," I told him.

He laughed and leaned down to peck a kiss to my lips. "I suppose we should take him home. Where's he staying?"

"In my apartment."

"Babe."

"I'm letting him stay there while it's under construction. Any idea where I'll be staying tonight? Did you find Vlatko?"

"No. If we're lucky, he's busy working on his primary assignment and I'll have time to find him before he focuses on us. I have a contact combing through recent visas, but it won't get us very far if we don't know the alias he's using."

"He was working out of the Russian consulate in New York, right? What if we went back there and got them to tell us his name?"

"Do you have an angle?"

"He viciously attacked me at their party, and I have the slashed shirt to prove it. If I go back with my lawyer and my pregnant belly, they should fall all over themselves to help me. People bend over backwards for a pregnant lady."

"I like it. Who's your lawyer?"

"Briggs. When all else fails, he's good at playing the short card."

"Be aware, if anything goes wrong, you'll be on foreign soil. Rescue will be more difficult."

"But not impossible?"

Hint of smile. "Not impossible. When do you want to do this?"

"Tomorrow morning."

Ranger nodded. "I was able to get access to my fleet, since the parking is open air. I'll have Mark 2 delivered to the office before I drop you off."

"Any word on the rest of the building?"

"Not yet." He kissed me with enough meaning to make my knees go gooey. "You may be staying with Morelli again tonight. I'll let you know if the plan changes."


	59. Chapter 59

AU of Top Secret 21, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Fifty-Nine

I didn't know what to do with myself after I was done with work, so I went back to Morelli's to watch some television and make myself a grilled cheese sandwich. I'm not a domestic goddess by any stretch, but I could manage a pretty edible grilled cheese. Morelli got home around seven. Might have given him a little déjà vu to see me in his kitchen. Ghost of girlfriend past. He scratched Bob's ear and went straight to the fridge. Got a beer and chugged it.

"Long day?"

"You could say that." He looked over the stove and saw that I had two sandwiches in the pan. "You started making me one before you knew when I'd be home?"

Truth be told, I'd made both sandwiches for myself, but it seemed like it might be selfish to eat both in front of him and not share. "You're usually home earlier."

"I got stuck at work. Thanks," he said when I gave him the plate complete with grilled cheese, pickle and chips. He took the sandwich to the little kitchen table to eat it while I started two more. "Ron Siglowski turned up a few hours ago. He floated down the Delaware and washed up onto the shore by the Route 1 bridge embankment. He'd been in the water a few days, but it wasn't enough to obscure the bullet hole in his head."

I paused around my first bite. Eew. "You think he was the first to die?"

"The ME will know for sure, but that would be my guess."

"That leaves just two poker players."

"And Briggs." Morelli chanced a look around like he was afraid to find Briggs hiding under a table. "Where is he, by the way?"

"He's staying in my apartment while it's under construction." I bit my grilled cheese. "I thought it was better than having him here."

"Thank god. He's annoying as hell. I wasn't looking forward to sharing living space with him."

"I wasn't looking forward to the possibility of someone shooting a rocket through your living room window."

He paused that time. "Was that a possibility?"

"Someone took out my Mercedes this afternoon."

"Another one? Aren't those things supposed to be armor plated?"

"Armor plating is for bullets, not rockets. Buster Poletti put a car bomb under Brigg's RAV4 this morning, but he wasn't the one who shot the rocket. He said rockets were too unpredictable. He wouldn't want to mess with them."

"Any idea who would?"

I shrugged. "Briggs said Poletti's youngest son was really into the Pine Barrens explosion parties. And he did have burns on his hands the day after that firebomb went rogue and punched a hole in my apartment wall. But I'm coming up empty on ideas for motive. He wasn't involved with Mexico, and Briggs can't sleep with a wife he doesn't have. I'm not even sure how well they would know each other."

"Suppose it's something I could look into."

"Do you have a lead on Jimmy Poletti's shooter?"

"Nothing that's likely to get us anywhere. Buster and Pepper are suspects only because they're the last men standing, but it could just as easily be someone from the outside. These guys associated with bad people. Poletti might have been the most deeply invested, but they all had their hands dirty with human trafficking and who knows what else."

"Between Buster being boots on the ground in Mexico and Silvio Pepper running his trucks down there, I'm betting you're right."

Morelli shrugged. "The feds are involved in the Mexico side of things, so I'm not sure what their case involves. DEA doesn't really share evidence."

"Speaking of feds, I drove past Rangeman today. The crime scene tape is gone, but the vans are still on the street."

"My understanding is that the poison was pretty well contained in the one small room where Gardi was being held. If the polonium had been released directly into the ventilation system as planned, it might have done more damage, at least it might in a normal system. What I'm hearing is that the system Ranger uses is more complicated than that. Poison would have had to be introduced at a more central point to circulate. I imagine they'll let everyone back into the building tonight or tomorrow."

"That would be amazing. And a big relief. Ranger has a lot of sensitive technology in that building. There are probably agents at his console checking up on their girlfriends."

Morelli finished his sandwich and I passed him his second. "Not likely. Ranger's had his guys in hazmat suits on all seven floors 24/7. And word is that he was able to lock down his system from offsite. I know he has a very elite clientele, and they're willing to pay a premium for his services, but even at that you have to wonder if there's more going on in that building than local security."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. All I know is that his building is more secure than it needs to be, and the technology he uses is expensive, complicated, and not readily available. I used to think he was a dangerous whackjob. Now I'm not sure _what_ he is."

"I'm sure Bruce Wayne's friends thought the same thing."

"Yeah, you laugh, but the thought has crossed my mind once or twice to start looking for the Batcave."

You and me both.

ooo

Ranger

Ranger had hunted professionals before. Military intelligence. Assassins. Terrorists. Mostly for Uncle Sam, but there had been a few since he'd become a civilian again. Vlatko was a little more frustrating than was par for the course. Gatewell databanks were a dead-end, and running facial rec on the security footage hadn't gleaned anything more on Vlatko than proving he was there. It did give Ranger one minor advantage. A moderately clear image of Vlatko's face to show his men, even if the cold blue eyes and most of his scar were covered by his mirrored aviator sunglasses. Felt like a hollow victory, though. Asshole had looked right at the camera with a smug smile, knowing he was setting up circumstance that would poison Ranger's building and everyone in it. He'd been hoping Ranger would survive, and he wanted Ranger to see him. Got a perverse pleasure out of playing the game. Like he thought he was the cat in Cat and Mouse.

Ranger's phone buzzed in his pocket and he actually smiled when he saw Steph's face in the display. He pressed the phone to his ear. "Babe."

"Morelli said they might release Rangeman tonight?"

"That's probably ambitious. I'm expecting the all clear tomorrow, but I'll still have to call in hazardous cleanup to make sure the building is up to safety standards."

"Bummer. I was really hoping we could go home."

"Me too, Babe."

"I'm eating grilled cheese at Morelli's if you want to join us. I think you impressed him with the setup at Rangeman. I think he might be on board with believing you're a superhero."

"Are you sure he didn't mean supervillain?"

"He said he's started wondering if there's a Batcave."

Ranger grinned. She really was pure sunshine. "There's nothing more I can do from here tonight. Would you like me to come pick you up?"

"Yes please."

ooo

Morelli

Steph was taking in the last few bites of her second grilled cheese when she got a full body quiver and looked to the front door. Reminded him of the sixth sense her mother and grandmother always seemed to have. A minute later he heard the high powered performance engine humming to a stop at his curb. She popped out of her chair and ran to the door. Ranger swaggering up the walk. She jumped on him, arms round his neck like she'd missed him all week, and he caught her with zero surprise. Held her close. An honest to god smile right there on his face that was half relief half joy. If Morelli hadn't seen it with his own eyes he'd have never believed it. Man wasn't just devoted. She was his damn sunshine.

Ranger pressed a kiss to her temple and set her on her feet. Didn't relinquish her when he held out a hand to Morelli, knocking fists like old times. "I appreciate the assist," Ranger said to him.

"Anytime. You wanna come in for a beer?"

"Raincheck. With my current life complications I'd like to get Stephanie off grid as soon as possible."

"I'm guessing you didn't catch the guy at the Russian consulate."

"Not yet, but there's always tomorrow. I'll send someone to pick up her car tonight so it won't be in your driveway."

"That's okay, I don't mind."

Ranger shook his head. "We have no way of telling what this guy knows. If he's ID'd her vehicle it could make you a target. It would be an unnecessary risk that I'm not willing to take."

Considering this guy was dangerous enough to try poisoning Ranger's whole operation, it was a thoughtful gesture. Morelli wasn't all that interested in baiting a nuclear terrorist. "Well. If there's anything else I can do. My door is open."

Another nod. Morelli might have been tempted to say the easy camaraderie was odd, but in a weird sort of way it felt right. Go figure. Ranger looked at Stephanie. "You have what you need for tomorrow, Babe?"

"Yes. I put the shirt in my bag."

"Good."

Ranger acknowledged Morelli again when he got Steph's purse off the living room chair and passed it over. Steph smiled a thank you. Kept an arm around each other on the way to the car. Morelli wondered for a second if this was what it was like for Ranger all those years, watching the woman he loved walking away with another man.

Morelli'd always assumed Ranger only wanted one thing from Stephanie. That he wasn't the type to attach to people, let alone love them. Holy hell, had he been wrong. He had no doubt there was a time in Ranger's life when he'd stopped being human. Carried that badass swagger not just as a cover, but because that was who he was, through and through. Last few years, though, he'd been different. Less lawless fringe dweller and more quiet pillar of society. At the time, Morelli thought it was all an act to claim legitimacy. Now he had no doubt it was because of Steph. She'd befriended the monster and somehow taught him to be human again. Helped him find balance while he nurtured her wild side and taught her to run.

Morelli never really stood a chance.

ooo

Steph

Ranger held my door for me and watched my big fat pregnant ass trying not to drop into the seat before he went around and angled behind the wheel. He waited until my seatbelt was buckled and pulled away from the curb. Took me a few minutes to realize we weren't heading the way I expected. "Isn't the satellite office that way?"

Ranger just smiled.

He whipped around a few corners at random and I recognized that he was doing a heat run. I'd learned the tactic from him. It was a measure to make sure we weren't being followed. Ranger did another, cutting through the city streets like he was trying to lose the devil.

He slung the Turbo down an access road and under a bridge. I blinked and we were pivoting into a garage. I hadn't even seen the door open. And just as quick, the door shut, leaving us in darkness.

Ranger cut the engine and the headlights went out. He angled out and came around to my side of the car. Pulled my door open and offered me a hand. Then he collected my messenger bag and gave me a tug toward a door that was barely visible against the dark wall.

I don't know what I expected to see when he opened it, but it wasn't an ordinary living room. The furniture was plain and mismatched. Very bachelor pad. I'd seen a few of Ranger's safe houses. They were always nondescript fortresses on the outside, modern minimalist on the inside. This was like walking into someone's real life.

Ranger didn't let go of my hand when he set my bag on the coffee table. Dropped his keys into the little wooden bowl. There was a set of keys for a Mercedes in it too, along with a set of dog tags.

Dog tags that said Manoso.

Omigod.

Ranger stood there with me while I tried to wrap my head around where he'd brought me. I was just trying to keep my eyes inside my head, because let's be honest, there was a lot to see. It was still minimalist. Ranger didn't attach to things. But there was enough to investigate that I felt like I was invading his privacy just by looking.

Ranger squeezed my hand like he'd read my thoughts. "Do you want the grand tour, or would you prefer to snoop around on your own?"

"This is the Batcave."

"Yes."

"I mean, like the real honestogod Batcave. The place you were living when your driver's license listed a vacant lot, or a men's shelter. Where you watered your own plants when you were on the run from the police and the Italian mob."

"Yep."

"But you said the Batcave was forever."

"Babe."

"Yeah yeah yeah, I know I'm pregnant, but still. This is a big step. You have safe houses all over. A satellite office three blocks from your building. Why the Batcave?"

"It's the most secure safe house I have. Off grid. No public record. Private entrance. Aside from Tank, none of my men even know it exists. I would have brought you here when Rangeman first went down, but I couldn't afford to be away from my operations center with my business in crisis mode. Now that things have settled and I'm able to leave Tank in charge, this seemed the most logical choice. I didn't figure you wanted to sleep at the satellite office again, and I doubt Morelli's cool would extend to me sleeping with you right across the hall from him."

"Fair point." Ranger had been in the same position once, living with me at my apartment when Morelli spontaneously decided to move in. Ranger threatened to kill Morelli if I slept with him with Ranger in residence. At the time, I thought it was hyperbole. Now that I've been with him for a while, I'm not so sure.

Ranger was thinking about smiling. Freaking mind reader. He let out a silent chuckle and leaned closer to whisper in my ear. "Go on, Babe. You know you want to."

Dammit. He was right. I totally did. I blame the nosey I inherited from my mother's side.

He stood back and watched with an amused smile while I wandered around, taking it all in. The kitchen was sparse. Dark gray granite counter tops with black cupboards and appliances. Not quite the showstopper that was in his apartment. But it was real. Warm. The kind of place I could actually see Ranger cooking, not just eating the gourmet offering his housekeeper sent up. In fact, I wasn't sure the Batcave had ever seen a housekeeper. It was tidy in a man who straightens up after himself kind of way, but it wasn't perfectly decorated or meticulously cleaned. There were fine hints of dust in the out of the way spots. And there were things out of place, like mail on the end table and dishes in the drying rack that Ella would have never allowed. When Ranger had lived here, he had done it on his own. Washed his own dishes. Cooked his own meals. Made his own bed.

A warm shiver moved down my body at that thought. I wandered into the hall and found the master bedroom. The frame was dark. Blankets solid dark gray on the plain white linens. Ranger had never cared much about design. The penthouse apartment at Rangeman was expensive and fine by Ella's choice, not his. But here, there were no pretenses. No vase of flowers to go unnoticed. No paintings on the walls or carefully chosen but unnecessary knick knacks on the shelves. The short little bookcase had actual books on it. Mostly text books on business and marketing. History. Books about enlightenment and ancient Buddhist teachings. Sun Tzu's The Art of War. There were even a few I'd have never expected. Like books of poetry.

I cut a look to his closet and wondered for a second if I dared to poke around knowing he was somewhere nearby. I mean, he'd invited me to snoop, right? And I'd been living with him at Rangeman for months without any expectation of privacy. This shouldn't be any different.

I held my breath a second and ripped off the Band-Aid.

Huh. So that's where all his fringed jackets and old cowboy boots went.

Kind of weird seeing something other than the wall of solid black and knowing it belonged to Ranger. There were blue jeans and gray sweats, sweaters and long sleeved shirts and Ts in shades you'd never think of when you looked at Ranger. There was plenty of black and olive drab too. Military fatigues. But there was also cream colored cable knit, and hunter green cotton, and red cashmere. All the accessories for a Ranger I'd never met.

I felt more than heard him when he leaned against the open doorframe to watch me poke around his space. The only source of Bulgari Green in the entire house. His energy was raw. Electrified under the amusement. "Having fun?"

"Did you really wear all of these?"

"Some more recently than others. Why I ever thought the fringe jacket worked I have no idea."

"Or the cowboy boots?"

"Babe, I rocked the boots and you know it."

Okay, so the boots were sexy. They'd added to the mystery that was the man of mystery. "You were wearing this sweater when you cornered me in my elevator the time you were being hunted by Ramos and Stolle."

Every inch of me tingled when he entered my atmosphere. Heat warming my back before his chest touched it. Arms moving around me. Lips brushing my shoulder, my neck, tracing a line up to my ear. "I wanted you so bad back then I couldn't see straight."

"Is that why you asked me to help you watch Ramos?"

"I asked you because for all the goofball antics, you're very good at what you do. Wanting you was the reason I came to you at 2am every night to get updates. I could have called. Arranged meetings. But I liked seeing you. If your Granny hadn't been crashing in your bed I might have tried getting you there myself."

"I wasn't even sure what to make of those visits until the night you startled me and I tackled you. Holy cow, it went from friendly to hot fast."

Teeth grazed my ear, the sensation pouring through my center like melting butter. "Babe, what do you think I meant by I couldn't see straight? Not only was I turned on by the tackle, but I suddenly had you under me. Soft breasts pressed to my chest. Nothing but those thin little shorts and my pants between us. And the way you came alive when I kissed you, I lost all sight of the hunt, or propriety, or the fact your Granny was sleeping in the next room. In fact, if she hadn't woken when she did," he said, hands under my shirt like they'd been that night, "I'd've pushed the top out of the way, kissed down every inch of your body until I got those cute little shorts off, and then I would have tasted you right there on your living room floor."

Oh boy, was it hot in here or was it just me? "And then what?"

I felt his smile when he kissed my neck, licked me, and kissed the spot again, one hand heading south. "Wasn't really thinking at the time, but knowing me I would have started losing clothes. Yours and mine. And then just before you were ready to beg, I'd've been inside you. Taking you places you'd never been before."

I was starting to lose feeling in my knees. "You seem to have thought a lot about this."

"Babe, I've thought a lot about everything. We've had so many almost moments I could write a smutty adventure novel."

"What was the first one?" I asked, voice little more than a whisper the way he was touching me.

He knew what I was really asking. When was it that he first found me attractive. We'd known each other a whole year before he'd ever even hinted at it. Before that it had never occurred to me my scary ex-special forces mentor and friend could be a potential sexual partner.

His strong hands did some intensely arousing things inside my clothes. "First time we ever met, when you dug in your heels with that defiant fire, I thought about you naked and under me. But it got real the night you woke me up, from this very bed, with a call that you were chained to your shower rod naked. I've fantasized for years about what could have happened that day if you'd been excited to see me for reasons other than being rescued."

"What _would_ have happened?"

His whole body radiated the wicked grin I couldn't see. "I'll show you." He ran a thumb across my nipple and pulled his hand out of my bra, reaching past me into the closet. Snatched the end of a black leather belt and whipped it off its hook. Eek! I might have just bit off more than I could chew. Ranger laughed, low and sexy. Stripped off his shirt and tossed it on the floor. My back got cold when he moved away, but the rest of me was hot! His pants hit the floor next. And then I heard the sheets rustle. The belt whispering over itself until the sharp tug.

I turned and saw Ranger laid out completely naked on the bed, one hand tied to the headboard above him. His soft mocha skin stretched taught over every one of those hard, sculpted muscles. Thick arm leading down through his strong chest and incredible abs, all the way to his long, powerful legs. His most perfect body part standing high in the air.

Oh.

My.

God.

Corners of his eyes crinkled when he read the pure lust right off my face. The carnivorous stare so like the feral Ranger I hardly knew that I might have gulped if it weren't for the total adoration shining underneath. "Good of you to come out in the middle of the night like this," he said, voice such thick velvet there was no question he was into the game.

Well. Who was I to deny him? I smiled. "Didn't wanna miss seeing you tied up naked."

"Coulda seen it anytime if you'd just asked."

I couldn't help the rush that gave me and I prayed to god I wasn't blushing. I'm definitely not the blushing type, and this man had been my boyfriend for six months, but something about this was feeling so new it triggered a whole load of kinky sex endorphins I'd never felt before.

Ranger warmed with a sly half smile. "Gotta come over here, Babe, if you're gonna untie me."

Oh god, this was like chasing a doomsday orgasm all over again. I paced toward him, drawing out the moment, and every step made his black eyes warm a little more. I traced a finger from his thigh all the way up his chest and I heard the way his breathing changed. Shorter. More shallow. So this is what a turned on Ranger is really like. I'd always been so distracted by his dogged focus on my pleasure that I'd never heard the subtle sounds he made. I brushed another touch from his neck to his chest, watching the way he followed my fingers with his eyes. Ran a soft circle around his nipple and his breath half shuddered. He liked that. I leaned over him and kissed his muscle. Repeating the circle with my tongue. That got me another reaction a bit lower. I nibbled with my teeth and he let out a throaty male groan. "Babe."

"You like that?" I asked him, really getting into the spirit of things.

For a man who was completely at my mercy he didn't look an ounce out of control. "I like everything, Babe."

I kissed his abdomen. Paying attention to each and every defined group of muscles. His free fist tightened on the bed frame. Maybe to keep it to himself. He was letting me have my way with him and he didn't want to interfere. He nearly lost that battle when I licked him like an ice cream cone.

The noises Ranger made were nearly silent, but they were most definitely there. It was incredibly erotic to hear them on the quiet air, bare and unmasked by the louder sounds he loved to get from me. "God," he breathed. "Stephanie." Like my name was a prayer. I'd felt worshiped by him before, but never like this. Never when I was so in control, loving him as thoroughly as he'd loved me.

I kissed his mouth, stroking his tongue with mine until I couldn't breathe anymore either. He bit my bottom lip and sucked it in a way I felt all the way down to my doo-dah. "Do you want the rest of me?" I whispered.

"God yes."

I stripped my shirt off over my head and let it drop to the floor. Doing the same with the rest of my clothes. He held still when I lowered over him, eyes closing on their own at the sensation. I took his free hand and covered my breast in a wordless plea to touch me. I could hear every change in him, from the way his chest rose faster to the near soundless moans, until the pressure started building and I lost focus. He was on the edge already when I got there. His hand grabbing hold on my hip when he shuddered too. Long, low pants moving slow and even. Not out of breath, exactly, but the relish of relief as he tried to slow his pounding heart. I collapsed over him and he shifted, holding me with the one arm while he cradled my changing body. Me a complete and total lump. "That. Was incredible."

He chuckled half under me, kissing my sweaty forehead. "Maybe next time we should try it with handcuffs."


	60. Chapter 60

AU of Top Secret 21, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Sixty

Ranger

Waking up entwined with the love of his life in the safe seclusion of his own home was like waking from a satisfying dream. He'd gotten used to knowing she was his. Holding her skin to skin after a night of love making without the old worry it would be their last. He'd never imagined bringing her here would feel so different. Like coming full circle. He'd laid in that bed so many nights fantasizing about her. Reliving their moments over and over again, with better more kinky results. Last night she'd let him live one of his favorite sexual fantasies. Far better than he could have ever imagined back then. Because it had been an exercise in trust with the person he trusted most. A physical expression of faith and love.

He let his hand trace lightly over the belly between them. Feeling the way the baby moved against his hand and bare abdomen. God. There had actually been a moment three years ago when Steph's maternal instincts had been itching and he'd flat out dragged her against him and offered to get her pregnant. He'd laid awake in this very bed after. Staring at the ceiling. Wondering what percentage of him had meant it. Now it was obvious. Who he'd been at the time, it would have been the cruelest thing he'd ever done. But bare truth was that in that one moment, he'd been 100% serious.

Steph pulled in a deep breath. First sign of waking.

She looked at him through sleepy halos surrounded by messy chocolate curls. "Morning."

"Morning."

She stretched. Eyes darting around the room like she was afraid the Batcave had vanished during the night. It was adorable how enthralled she was with the fact he'd brought her here. At the time, he'd just been thinking convenience. She'd needed a good night's sleep before she bluffed her way into a potential international incident, and he'd needed his family in one place again. The bunker house had been nothing but logical. But the way she was staring around it was like she thought he'd brought her someplace magical. He didn't bother hiding the smile when he kissed her. "It's just a house, Babe."

"I thought you said this was the Batcave."

"It is. At least it's the place you called the Batcave before I moved into Rangeman full time. I'm just saying, there's nothing special here. Last few years, it's been more a glorified storage unit where I kept the things I hadn't bothered to throw away."

"Hey, don't knock that. I fully intend to snoop through all those things."

"Need to satisfy your curiosity?"

"Want to better know the man I'm starting a family with."

Damn. Sometimes he forgot how little she knew about his past. She knew his heart so well. His soul. Seemed unnecessary to drag out pictures of his childhood. But then, that was the biggest difference between him and Steph. She'd never had to put everything she was into a hidden box, metaphorically or physically. She was used to getting the whole picture. "Well. If you dig in the right places you should find an envelope with pictures from the middle east. But the best stuff is in my mother's basement."

"Yeah?"

He nodded. "Embarrassing baby photos. Yearbooks from my high school in Miami. The whole nine yards."

"And when will I get to see those?"

That was a very good question.

He ran a hand down her back to the place her ass met her leg and kissed her slow and deep. "Let's start with breakfast. I had Tank deliver a few days' worth of food when I decided to bring you here. I could whip up some omelets while you get dress for your first solo adventure as an international spy."

"Crap. I forgot my duffle bag with all my clothes at Morelli's."

"It's alright, Babe. Ella picked out something special for this mission. Should look respectable and leave absolutely no doubt that you have a baby on board."

"You don't want to take a shower with me?" The sultry lilt to her voice was as attention holding as the coy lip bite, her hands exploring his chest the way she had last night. He couldn't have kept from going hard if he wanted to.

Ranger scooped her knees and pulled both legs over his hip. Pressing his hardon into her. She gasped and let him in. Relishing just how deep he could reach from this position. "How about I cook for you while you're laying happy and boneless, and then after you've eaten I'll take you again in the shower."

"Sounds. Like a perfect. Plan."

Already breathless.

He liked it.

ooo

Steph

I was much more relaxed when Ranger came back to bed with a steaming plate of food for each of us. Fluffy omelets and fresh cut fruit. Not only could Ranger cook. He was good at it. Not surprising, since he was good at pretty much everything. But it was definitely up there on the sexy.

After an even sexier shower, Ranger gave me the bag Ella had packed for me. Ella knows my body better than I do most of the time. This was no exception. The outfit she'd provided was a sleek black pencil skirt with stretchy panel waist that covered me from hip to underwire, a delicate pale blue wrap shirt that pulled tight in all the right places to show the clear definition between breasts and belly, and a little black jacket that was more shrug than coat since it only came to the small of my back and wouldn't close in front. It was the wardrobe equivalent of a flashing neon sign.

Ranger didn't have a full length mirror, so I bit the bullet and asked him. "How do I look?"

"Pregnant."

"Do I look like I'm smuggling a volley ball?"

He cracked a smile. "You look perfect, Babe."

We took the Mercedes rather than stuffing Briggs in the cargo area of the Turbo. It was a short drive to the bonds office anyway. Tank met us there in a black Ford Expedition. He wasn't all that happy when he took a seat in the back next to Briggs, but that could have been because of the light odor of aftershave and roasted car.

Ranger spotted me while I climbed into the front passenger seat and then went around to his side. I turned to Briggs. "You understand what it is we're doing?"

"Yeah, we're gonna scam the Ruskies."

"Not exactly. I need information on someone I believe is associated with the consulate. I only have a description of him. I need his name. So we're going to say I was at a party two nights ago when this guy attacked me. If I can get someone to pull his dossier, I might be able to create a diversion and steal it."

Briggs nodded like he understood all that. "What about Ranger and Mr. Frowns-a-Lot? What's their role."

"They're our insurance policy, in case we get found out."

"Cool. In case we need to kick some Russian ass."

We drove in silence all the way to New York and parked in the same lot as before. Ranger made a call to the man he had watching the consulate. "Business as usual. No sign of our friend. Tank and I are going to hang back, but I'll keep you in sight. Pretend I'm not here." He gave me a new earbud. "If you get into trouble, feed Briggs to the dogs and run."

"What was that about Briggs?" Briggs asked from the back seat.

I turned around. "He said he believes you'll be good at distraction." I looked back to Ranger, sticking the bud in my ear. "At least you better hope. I'm not all that good at running anymore."

Ranger grinned.

I pushed the intercom button when we got to the consulate and told the voice on the other end that I needed to speak to someone in charge. The door buzzed open. A man in a suit met us in the lobby. His eyes went right to my belly. I told him about my experience and got the proper amount of horror, and five minutes later, we were taken to a second floor office dominated by a large oak desk and a large Russian man with a dark suit and a serious expression.

"My name is Sergei Yablonovich," he said. "Please, have a seat."

I perched on the edge of one of the massive oversized chairs, but Briggs was having trouble. After a moment he gave up his dignity and clambered up, sitting with his feet hanging in the air.

Sergei watched until Briggs was settled and turned back to me. "My associate tells me you had an unfortunate experience at our consulate two nights ago."

"Yes. It was frightening. I came to the party with one of the men who was here for the trade show, and when I went to the ladies' room down the hall a man I'd never seen before grabbed me by the neck and held me at knifepoint. He. He threatened me. Said he would do terrible things to me." I put a trembling hand to my belly for emphasis, just in case the guy had missed it, but the truth was I didn't have to try to make my hands shake. I was close to hyperventilating just sitting in this guy's office. "I tried to get away and he slashed at me with his knife. I brought my clothes to show you." I nodded to Briggs and he pulled out the silky camisole top like we'd arranged. The dried blood that ringed the long gash a stark contrast to the fine white material. "I was lucky I wasn't badly hurt. Some people came out of the party at just the right moment and scared him away. I was so shaken I left the building without even saying goodbye to my friend."

"Is this the friend?" he asked about Briggs.

"He's my attorney. I asked him along because I was nervous about returning alone."

Sergei looked at the shirt and his frown got a frown. "This is terrible. Have you gone to the police?"

"Yes. They said I should come here. I don't know the man's name, or how to find him, and the police don't have the authority to investigate on Russian soil."

Sergei nodded. He was very aware of that fact. No US law was enforceable within a foreign consulate, which meant whether he helped me or not was entirely up to the kindness of his heart. "Was this man with the trade delegates or the consulate?" he asked me.

"I didn't see him at the party, so I don't think he was with the delegates. He wore a patch over one eye, and he had this odd tattoo on his neck. He might have had a light British accent. I would definitely know him if I saw a photo."

Sergei touched a button on his desk phone. "I'm looking for a man with a patch over one eye who might be associated with the vodka trade show, or perhaps the consulate."

"Viktor Volkov wears a patch over his eye," a woman answered. "He's a representative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. He was sent here from our Miami office to attend the trade show in Atlantic City."

"I'd like to see his dossier."

He disconnected and turned back to me.

"Ordinarily I would have welcomed our vodka makers at that party myself, but I had to see to the accommodations of a very important guest who is scheduled to speak at the trade show. Arranging his security has been taking all my focus. Perhaps if I had been there I could have prevented this from occurring." A competent looking woman with short brown hair knocked once and entered, walking a file folder across the room. Sergei read it as she saw herself out. He showed me a photo. "Is this the man?"

"Yes!" I gasped. Might have even managed to get teary eyed.

"I can assure you we'll look into this matter."

Uh oh. I'd heard that before. That was a classic kiss off. "Is there any way I can press charges?"

"I'm afraid it's more complicated than that. But I can promise that I will do everything in my power to make sure nothing like this happens again."

I cut a look to Briggs praying he had a better angle. He sat up as tall as he could. "Does that mean he's not going to jail? This isn't just my client and my good friend we're talking about here. This Viktor guy was sick enough to try and assault a woman who's due any day. She's going to be breastfeeding soon and instead she's got a big ol' scar on her tit from where he cut her with a knife. That monster could have done anything to her! What if he'd hurt her baby? Or killed her? Or… or…"

Briggs got quiet and looked down at his knees, and the rest of us leaned forward waiting to hear what he had to say. And then he slipped out of the chair onto awkward feet.

"Oh god, I need some air. I'm… my arm," he said, grabbing his left shoulder. He staggered for the door and Sergei popped out of his seat, calling his assistant to get the EMTs. Briggs got several feet out into the hall before he faceplanted to the carpet like a dead fish.

Sergei ran to him, not sure what to do, leaving me alone in the office with the dossier on Victor Volkov. I whipped out my smartphone and snapped photos of all three pages, and then straightened the file again before I went out into the hall. I leaned over Briggs. "Is he breathing?"

Briggs' eyes popped open at the sound of my voice, startling Sergei. "Mommy?"

"No! I think you fainted."

"Is that all?"

I looked up at Sergei. "He gets panic attacks. Makes him think he's dying."

"You might think about getting a new lawyer."

"I would, but he's married to my sister." I grabbed Briggs by the arm and tugged him to his feet. "I really appreciate your time. I have every faith that you'll be able to get this handled so it won't ever happen again. We'll see ourselves out." I kept hold of Briggs while he shuffled as fast as was believable toward the elevators.

"I didn't get your name," Sergei said.

I stepped into the elevator while Briggs was mashing the button for the first floor. "Joyce Barnhart." The doors closed.

We passed the EMTs on the way out of the building. The Rangeman SUV rolled down the street and stopped in front of us, and I got into the back with Briggs, right behind Ranger. Tank pulled away from the curb before anyone in the consulate could decide to stop us, a second Rangeman vehicle behind us. I gave Ranger his earbud. "Looks like you're ending surveillance on the consulate."

"I am. I don't see Vlatko returning."

"We did good, right?" Briggs asked me. "Did you see the brilliant way I diverted the Ruskie's attention away from his desk so you could steal that dossier? That was Academy Award worthy. I missed my calling as an actor. Or maybe I should have been a spy."

Ranger turned in his seat to look at me. "Did you get the dossier?"

"I photographed it." I opened the document photos and gave Ranger my phone.

Ranger read it a moment. "This gives a Moscow address as his permanent residence. Lists several contact addresses while he's in this country. The contact addresses are all hotels. One in Miami, the Gatewell here in New York, and a hotel in Atlantic City. I assume that's where they'll be holding the trade show your new Russian friend mentioned."

"He also said he was making arrangements for some VIP who will be speaking."

"From the little I know about Vlatko, it's almost certain everything in this dossier is a cover. He'll have a local handler who knows more, but the consulate staff has no reason to take this at anything but face value. Russian bureaucrats learn not to ask questions."

"At least we know he's going to Atlantic City. He might not stay in the hotels he listed, but he _was_ in Miami and New York. If his cover was created to get him close to the vodka makers, his primary target is probably one of them."

"Someone went to a lot of trouble to get Vlatko here. He's an assassin. A specialist. He's been sent here to eliminate someone difficult to reach. Or he's here to create chaos."

"He's off to a good start in Trenton."

"Fortunately, there was only one death in Trenton. The doctors are saying McCready is going to be okay."

"Thank god."

We dropped Briggs off at my apartment building and Ranger turned to me. "So, do you want me to drop you at the bonds office or would you rather spend the rest of the day going through the Batcave with a fine toothed comb?"

"Gee. That's a tough one. Potentially pick up a skip that might be naked or gross, or dig around the place I've been curious about for years looking for the metaphoric underwear drawer."

"You haven't found the non-metaphoric underwear drawer yet either, Babe."

"That is an excellent point. We'll put that in the pro-Batcave column."

Ranger was thinking about smiling when he gave Tank a nonverbal signal. Ten minutes later, he was pulling into the garage at the Batcave. "Are you sure you'll be comfortable here alone for a few hours? I have some things to line up before Rangeman can be unsealed, and I have research to do on Victor Volkov that my software here isn't equip to handle."

"I'm sure. I'll probably take a nap when I'm done snooping."

He handed me the Porsche keys. "There are a few choices for lunch in the kitchen. I'll make you dinner as soon as I get home."

"You might just spoil me, you know."

Ranger wasn't just thinking about smiling that time. Pulled me close for a tempting kiss. "Count on it."


	61. Chapter 61

AU of Top Secret 21, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Sixty-One

I'll be honest. There was a tiny part of me that was afraid I was going to find Ranger's little black book or a lost pair of women's panties when I started digging through his closet. I didn't think he'd ever brought a woman here besides me. Ranger was too careful for that. But I also didn't think he was a celibate monk before we got together either. Ranger practically leaked excess testosterone. Combine that with the perfect face and body, he was basically an apex predator disguised as catnip.

I didn't end up finding any trophies, thank god. What I did find was an album with pictures of his daughter Julie. Newborn all the way to age nine or ten. He wasn't in most of them. Probably they were pictures Rachel had sent. He'd been young when Rachel got pregnant, only twenty-one. Barely starting his military career. Ranger had missed out on raising his own daughter because he thought the distance was better for her. Thought she'd be safer. But he hadn't liked it. More he'd resigned himself that she was happier with Rachel and Ron.

Now he had a second chance. Not just at having a child. But having one within the bonds of faith and trust. Even if it wasn't in the bonds of matrimony.

I found the photographs from his army days that he'd told me about in a small manila envelope on top of his gun safe. It was weird, seeing Ranger at twenty. Slimmer build. Boyish face with only a fraction of his current troubles. There weren't as many pictures once he'd gone into special forces. Probably you didn't want to document your black ops missions.

I was sitting cross legged on his closet floor when I heard the garage door open. The prickle at the back of my neck the only other sign that he'd come into the room behind me. "Find anything interesting?"

Showed him the photographs. "How many of these are classified?"

Mouth twitched. "The really classified ones are in back."

Cute. I flipped another photograph and found the one of his entire unit. The one he'd shown me when Orin was hunting us. He was still so young. Early twenties. Likely the youngest one there. I traced his face with my fingertip. "I've always wondered. How did you get the name Ranger? Vlatko called you Manoso."

He leaned against the closet doorframe. "Korea was one of the last missions I ran before I was handpicked for the unit. Might even say it was what caught the top brass' attention. When they put together a unit like that, they don't just stick to one branch of the military. They choose the right men for the job, regardless of rank or pedigree. My unit was mostly Berets. An Air Force pilot. A SEAL. I was the only one pulled straight from the Army Rangers, good five years younger than the next guy."

"So they called you Ranger."

Single nod. "Name stuck."

I gave him Julie's album. "No recent pictures?"

"The recent ones are on a secure server at Rangeman. Though after Scrogg the fact I have a daughter is public knowledge. Still best not to draw attention."

Oh boy. "Vlatko was in Miami."

"I've already spoken with both Rachel and Julie. They hadn't noticed anything suspicious. I've got men from the Miami office watching over them, just in case. I don't think it's likely he would have targeted them, though. He wanted it to be personal, taking out my headquarters and targeting the people close to me. I've been extra careful since Scrogg to make sure there are no traceable signs I have any remaining connection to Rachel or Julie. Everything is secure phone lines and private messages. Anytime I visit it looks like I'm attending to Rangeman Miami business."

"That must be hard."

He shrugged, offering me a hand. "Not any harder than usual. Julie's fond of texting." He lifted me to my feet with minimal effort. "What would you like to have for dinner? I have chicken that I could pan sear with vegetables and wild rice, or put over a salad."

"No pizza?"

"Sorry Babe, the Batcave doesn't get delivery."

"Then let's go with the first one."

Ranger smiled. He knows how I feel about salad.

I followed him into the kitchen to watch him cook. He was amused when I tried to hoist my pregnant body up onto the counter. Lifted me like nothing and moved between my legs to kiss me senseless, accompanied by some strategic touching. I was starting to think dinner could wait when we heard my phone ringing in my bag. Ranger fished it out and checked the display. "Morelli."

"I should answer that. It's probably important."

Ranger gave it to me and moved away, much to my regret. Started getting things out of the refrigerator. I answered. "What's up?"

"I could use a pint of butter pecan mixed with bourbon for starters."

"Oh boy. What happened? You have a really bad day?"

"You could say that. Some idiot found a judge willing to bond out Jimmy Poletti, and some other idiot shot him dead. This is gonna create a shitstorm, not to mention a crap ton of paperwork."

"Who bonded him out?"

"I imagine it was Vinnie, but I haven't gotten far enough in the investigation to confirm it. The media's already running with this. I had to attend a press conference. I had to brief the mayor. I had to stop for antacids and Excedrin. Poletti was shot an hour after he got out of jail. An hour!"

Nice to know I wasn't the only reason he had to drink antacid. "Do you know who did it?"

"No. Hence the antacids and the Excedrin. The bourbon laced butter pecan will have to wait until later. I came home to walk Bob and get something to eat, and then I have to go back to the station. I'm just wishing you'd stayed here long enough to leave behind a cache of ice cream. I could really use it as a temporary substitute for liquor."

"There are some snacks in the duffle bag I left in the guest room. Most of it is healthy stuff Ella put in as pregnant lady treats, but there are some protein bars in there that I swear taste like candy if you don't think too hard. Where was Poletti when he got shot?"

"In Buster's apartment."

"Get out!"

"I swear to God. Buster phoned it in. He was at the eye doctor getting his eyes checked and found Jimmy sprawled out on the living room floor when he got home, one bullet in his head and two in the chest. I already checked Buster's alibi. He had a friend take him to the optometrist because they were going to dilate his eyes."

"One in the head and two in the chest. That sounds like an execution."

"Definitely not dealing with an amateur."

"Buster needs to change his locks."

"His rug will never be the same."

"That leaves just two poker players. Have you talked to Silvio Pepper?"

"He's on my list."

"And what about the connections to Mexico? Briggs told me they used to use Buster's apartment to keep the girls they brought up, until Jimmy was caught and Buster's wife kicked him out. That's why everyone and their brother has a key to the place. If you're dealing with a professional, it could be somebody is upset with the way things went down. They could be looking for payback. Or a payday. Briggs said there was a _lot_ of money coming out of whatever they were into in Mexico."

"What else does Briggs know?"

"Not much."

"Well, that might be a angle that's worth something. I'll see about getting some full time surveillance on Buster's place. Shouldn't be hard to sell now that it's been host to two murders. Have I told you lately that you're amazing?"

"Not in a way that was flattering."

I could hear the grin. "I gotta run. See if I can get this in motion fast. And don't be surprised if your snacks are severely depleted when you come for the bag. I might be stress eating."

"My snacks are your snacks."

Morelli thanked me and hung up just as Ranger was adding chicken to the oiled pan with a satisfying hiss. Knowing he could cook had been sexy. Actually watching him do it was close to foreplay. "Where did you learn how to cook, anyway?"

"Here and there. My Grandma Lucia was the first to insist on it. She thought adding responsibilities would help straighten me out."

"Did it?"

"To a degree. Didn't keep me from running around or getting in trouble, but it might have given me enough discipline to get decent grades. And it taught me a valuable life skill. Cooking means you're less likely to go hungry." He turned the chicken over and added the vegetables he'd cut. Put the whole cast iron pan in the oven. Took his place between my knees again, pulling at the ties on the wrap shirt. "I've never used those skills to impress a woman before though. I'm curious if it's working."

"Big time."

He eased the shirt open, exposing the matching pale blue bra Ella had bought me. His fingertips tracing from my neck to the delicate lace that lined the cup. "More than this?" He kissed my breast and dipped a finger into my bra, brushing against my nipple. I just about burst into flame.

"Hard to say with your shirt still on."

I'd barely managed to say it, and by the grin he knew it too. Grabbed the hem of the black t-shirt and took his time stripping it off over his head. Revealing every perfect inch of him at just the right speed. No care whatsoever for where it dropped. He dragged an even slower line down my shoulders, pushing the shirt away in the same touch that pulled my bra straps down my arms, letting the cups hang open enough to let him see inside. His mouth explored the newly exposed skin while his hands eased my skirt up my thighs from the inside.

"You're not going to burn dinner because you're distracted, are you?" I said, just a little breathless. He'd scooped his hands around me and pulled me to the edge, his bare stomach warming my inner thighs. Truth be told, I didn't care if dinner burned as long as he didn't stop.

"I can think with more than one body part at a time." His tongue went into my bra and he captured my nipple, sucking it hard enough to bring me halfway to orgasm. My skirt practically a belt the way our bodies met. I worked the buttons on his cargo pants until I got them open and heard that subtle guttural sound he made that betrayed his focus. All I had to do was position and he pulled me onto him. Mouth finding mine while he held me up with those powerful arms. The long, slow strokes adding to the intensity of his touch. I dug my fingers into the small of his back when I started to see colors. Everything but the sensation of him going fuzzy through the waves of pleasure. I heard him expel a breath, but it took me a minute to come back to myself. Slung limp against his shoulder in relief. Took feeling his silent laugh to realize I must have missed something. "What?"

"Babe. You bit me."

"I did not." I looked at his shoulder and saw the ring of pink teeth marks. Cripes, I totally did. "Omigod, I'm so sorry."

"It's alright, Steph," he said, brushing his grin across my lips in a brain smoking kiss. "I told you I like everything."

An alarm sounded somewhere in the kitchen, pulling Ranger's attention. Whew. Saved by the beep. It wasn't lost on me that his perfect timing extended to something as primal and all-consuming as making love. His pants were still hung low on his hips while he got plates out of the cupboard. I had to cringe just a little.

I'd kind of sort of left lines of fingernail marks in his back.

Oops.

ooo

Ranger had to oversee the release of Rangeman the next morning, so he left my post-loving body humming in the Batcave bed so that I could sleep in if I wanted to before I started my day. Sundays were the closest I got to a day off. The bonds office was closed, and as long as I didn't have any outstanding skips my day was wide open for rest and relaxation. With all the worry I'd been going through over Vlatko and Ranger, a little rest was exactly what I needed.

Ella had only packed one change of clothes in the bag Ranger had brought me. Bummer. Ranger had said he wasn't allowing me in the building until he was 100% certain it was safe. Which meant if I wanted to take a shower and dress in fresh clothes, I'd need to make a quick trip to Morelli's house.

Morelli and I had found a weird sort of balance between exs and friends, but I wasn't excited by the idea of walking into his house in yesterday's clothes smelling like Ranger and sex. That might push the boundaries of our awkwardness threshold. I decided to call first and found out he was at his brother Anthony's house helping to put together a swing set. From the sound of things, there was more beer drinking going on than building. He'd be at it all afternoon. Good deal.

I put on the t-shirt and jeans I'd worn when I'd first arrived at the Batcave and grabbed a little breakfast before I picked up the Porsche keys and went out to the garage. Ten minutes later I was parked in Morelli's driveway. Let myself in. The house was always weird when Bob wasn't there to greet me. Almost eerie.

I ate some of Morelli's leftover lasagna before I went upstairs to get my bag. Changed into my last clean outfit and collected the handful of things I'd left scattered around the guest room. I brought the bag downstairs, debating between going to my mother's house and mooching another piece of Morelli's lasagna. Set the bag on the kitchen counter.

Then I froze.

Something had felt off from the moment I'd opened the door. But in my wildest nightmares I would have never thought I'd see something like this. I didn't breathe.

My messenger bag was on the counter, and next to it in a smear of red was what looked like a human heart. A note stuck to the counter saying _I'll have yours next_.

I looked around. Windows were intact. Doors shut and locked. At least the back door was. I couldn't see the front door from here, and I sure as hell wasn't about to investigate. I got the keys Morelli kept in the red mug in the overhead cupboard and forced my shaking hands into unlocking the drawer where he kept his spare Glock 9. Stood with my back to the wall and called Ranger.

"I'm alone in Morelli's house and someone just left a bloody heart on the kitchen counter. I have a gun, and I'm in the kitchen, and I'm not going to move until you get here."

"I'm fifteen minutes away, but I'll have one of my men on your location sooner than that."

I hung up and called my parents' house. I called my sister. I called Briggs, and Connie, and Lula. No one was missing a heart. I looked outside and saw two of Ranger's guys standing at attention in Morelli's backyard. Fairly safe bet there would be two more out front. I debated calling Morelli. It was his house after all. But I was afraid things would spiral out of control if Morelli called in the feds. The feds wouldn't be as efficient at solving this problem as Ranger. Vlatko needed to be eliminated. Permanently.

My cell phone rang. Ranger was at the front door and he wanted to make sure I wouldn't shoot him. A moment later the door opened and closed. Uncharacteristic footsteps announcing his progress. He came around the corner into the kitchen and looked at me. Then at the heart. "Have you cleared the house?"

"No."

"Stay here while I do a walk-through."

He didn't bother with the footsteps when he left. Came back a few minutes later with his gun tucked back in it's holster. "What happened?"

"All the doors and windows were locked," I told him. "I went upstairs to get my bag and change my clothes, and when I came down the heart was on the counter."

"Are you sure you locked the front door when you came in?"

"Absolutely."

"It was unlocked when I arrived. Morelli could use a better security system. Though I suspect if Vlatko wanted to get through a door he'd find a way." Ranger came closer. Taking a good look at the heart. He made a call and gave the person Morelli's address. Told him to use the back door. Disconnected. "I'm not an expert, but this looks like a human heart."

"You've seen a lot of hearts?"

"How many is a lot?"

"One."

"Yeah, I've seen a lot of hearts. Have you called Morelli?"

"No. Not yet."

"If it's human, we'll have to call him," Ranger said. "If it's something other than human, I'd rather not make the call. It'll further complicate the Vlatko search."

"Are you making progress?"

"I've been researching Viktor Volkov. Volkov is a common Russian surname. There are several Viktor Volkovs in New York and New Jersey. One of them lives in Atlantic City."

"That's a convenient coincidence."

"The Atlantic City resident has been in the U.S. for several years, working as an independent contractor for a heating and air-conditioning company. Fifty-two. Single. Renting a house in a low-income neighborhood. Two eyes. Obviously not Vlatko. He doesn't answer his phone."

"Are you going to Atlantic City to talk to him?"

"Yes. I would have gone today, but I was eager to get Rangeman up and running in my building again. I need to be at full capacity."

There was a knock at the back door. Ranger let in a narrow-faced, pockmarked guy in Rangeman black. Nodded him toward the heart. "Tell me about this."

"It's a heart."

"What kind."

"Human. You can tell by the shape. It's adult-size. Appears to have been frozen and recently defrosted. The liquid on the counter is from the defrosting process. Cells breaking down."

"Anything else?" Ranger asked.

"It appears to have been healthy, but that's all I could tell you without slicing into it."

"Thanks," Ranger said.

The Rangeman guy joined the two guys standing out back and Ranger shut the door. "Who the heck was that?" I asked Ranger.

"Rodriguez. He's a specialist."

"I bet."

"Make the call."

"Are you sure you want to stick around for this?"

"Positive."

I blew out a sigh and called Morelli. "Hey. How's it going?"

"We hit a snag on the sliding board, but I think we have it figured out. How's it going with you?"

"I came to get my stuff from your house and I sort of have a situation."

"Uh oh. Did I eat too many of your snacks? I tried to leave more of the protein bars, but they really do taste like candy."

"It's not that. This is more a home invasion type of situation. I'm fine and Ranger is here, but we thought you'd want to check out the… problem."

"Oh man. Did somebody shoot a rocket into my living room?"

"Nope. No rocket. But you're going to want to see this."

It only took Morelli five minutes to get home. Bob bounded into the kitchen, slamming into me. He sniffed at Ranger. Morelli followed. Looked from Ranger to me, and then down at the gun I'd forgotten I was still holding. Happens when your hands are numb. I cut my eyes in a telling way that said _on the counter._

Morelli slung a worried look to the spot next to my bag. Momentarily stunned. "It's a heart."

"We think it's human. Someone broke in while I was upstairs and left it with the note."

He leaned in. " _I'll have yours next_." Looked at me with a degree of bridled anger. "Do you know what this means?"

"Probably. We think it relates to the polonium."

"You mean the psychopath who tried to cut you?"

"That would be a fair guess."

Ranger looked at Morelli. "When I was with Special Ops, I had an encounter with an SVR agent named Vlatko. He's an assassin and an interrogator. From what we know, he's in this country on some sort of mission. Rangeman was a practice run. I tracked him to the Russian consulate in New York and that gave me some leads, but he's still in the wind."

"What has this got to do with me?" Morelli asked him. "Why do I have a heart on my kitchen counter?"

"It has nothing to do with you. The heart was left for Stephanie. He's targeting her because of me. He knows who she is, and that we're expecting. It's the biggest reason I've been trying to keep her off grid as much as possible."

"How did he know she was even here? She's stayed here one day in the last six months."

"It's likely he's been watching her for a while. Might even know about your previous connection. He couldn't get to her where we've been staying, so he waited until she was exposed here. Without an armed guard," Ranger said, looking pointedly at me.

All I could do was shrug. "It was supposed to be five minutes."

"Do the feds know about the Vlatko connection?" Morelli asked him.

"Not from me. But they followed all the same initial leads that I followed. Since they don't share information with me, I have no idea where they're at in the investigation."

"If it's a human heart, it has a body somewhere," Morelli said. "At the very least, it needs to be tested and registered as a crime."

We all looked at the kitchen counter.

No heart.

The watery smear of blood slicked down the side of the counter and onto the floor, leading into the dining room. I heard Bob gnawing on something out of sight and met Morelli's wide eyes with mine. We all ran into the other room. Caught Bob red jawed.

 _"_ _Bad Bob_ ," Morelli scolded. "That's not Bob food."

Bob obviously had a different opinion because he snatched up the mangled piece of meat and bolted upstairs. Morelli on his heels. There was a lot of yelling and some growling.

Morelli came down empty handed.

"He ate it."

I was horrified enough to be sick. Ranger was staring at his shoes trying his hardest not to laugh. And Morelli was shaking his head, hands on hips as he stared at the bloody splotch on his dining room rug. Not one of us said a word. We were all carrying guns and no one wanted to say the wrong thing and start World War III.

"This never happened," Morelli finally said.

"I didn't see anything," Ranger said.

"Me either."

Morelli turned to Ranger. "If anything happens to her I'm holding you responsible. I don't care if you have to lock her in a safehouse or chain her to an army of goons."

"You read my mind."

"Hello," I said. "Don't I deserve a say in this? I'm a grown adult and I'm perfectly capable of being responsible for myself and my baby. Is that clear?"

"No," both men said in unison.

Jeez Louise. _Now_ they have to be on the same page.

Bob slunk down the stairs and stared up at Morelli with soulful eyes. He was sorry he'd eaten the evidence.

"That was bad," Morelli said to Bob. "You know you're not supposed to eat off the counter."

Bob's remorse took a turn and, much to our collective horror, he yacked the heart up right there on the rug.

I was never eating hamburger again.

"Maybe you could still test it for DNA," I said.

Ranger grinned.


	62. Chapter 62

AU of Top Secret 21, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Sixty-Two

Ranger

Ranger used to hate trusting Morelli with Steph's safety. Dude was a good cop, but he sucked at security. Wasn't built for the bullet dodging lifestyle. Steph hated the bullet dodging, but at least she was good at it. Took things like knife wielding psychopaths and mysterious human hearts in stride. Meant she didn't always think things through, like leaving the safety of the bunker without backup, but it also meant she wasn't traumatized. That in itself was how she'd managed to survive the life shift this long. Not everyone is cut out for hunting shadows.

He put her in the Porsche and gave his Mercedes keys to Porter. He'd park it with the fleet until Tank could help Ranger return it to the bunker. Made sure he had her bag and all her things. Then drove them back to Rangeman. He'd walked the top floor already and relieved the man on duty. Steph would just have to wait there.

"You're not really going to lock me up, are you?"

"Don't think of it as being locked up, Babe. Think of it as me taking you home to rest for a few hours while I oversee the repopulation of the building."

"And then?"

"I'm thinking two teams of two."

"Ha ha."

Yeah, she thought he was joking.

Steph visibly relaxed when he let them into their apartment. Happy to be home. He had no doubt she would take a shower and then crash hard. She'd been burning the candle at both ends for days, and no matter how comfortable and intriguing she'd found the Batcave, nothing compared to the rest you could get in your own bed.

Tank was on deck when he got down to five. "What do we know?"

"Nothing. If we'd known she was on the move I would have had men on her back. Unfortunately she didn't call it in or know to reactivate the GPS on the Turbo. I had Jose and Mario canvas Morelli's neighbors. Nobody saw anything."

Predictable. Vlatko was a professional. He knew how to avoid notice. "He's playing with her. Proving he can get access no matter how well I try to protect her."

"You think he'd stick around?"

"No. He likes the game, but he has official objectives too. They'll take precedent. Best lead we have is the vodka trade show. I want the complete itinerary, along with a list of speakers. The VIP Steph's diplomat mentioned would be a likely target if arranging his security requires that much focus. I want a complete workup on him."

Tank nodded. "And Steph?"

"Put two teams of two on standby. I want them on her like flypaper when she leaves the building."

ooo

Security was a nightmare while their men moved from temporary housing at the motel back into the Rangeman building, but they managed it without a hiccup. Restoring the main computer banks on five was more difficult. Evacuation protocol had included a complete system wipe and shutdown, so that an occupying force, like the FBI, couldn't bring in specialists to crack into the system and run decryption software. Hardware was intact, but the data had been burned. Ranger had to oversee the transfer from the satellite office personally before he could get the links up and running again.

It was well into the night and halfway to morning when he was finally able to slide into bed next to Stephanie. Out enough that she actually woke before he did. Went into the office to do her bounty hunter thing. There was a report on his phone when he woke. Something about catching a homeless Despicable Me character and a pack of feral Chihuahuas. Ranger'd assigned her four guys, so the takedown had gone smoothly. Aside from the Chihuahuas. Apparently they were ankle biters. And then, because Steph was Steph, she'd been guilted into taking custody. Jose said they were at the store buying dogfood, two men playing personal shopper inside while the other two babysat a dozen shivering rats at the curb. Ranger had to shake his head to keep from rolling his eyes. Only Steph could take on bodyguards who'd seen the middle east, the no-man's land of southern drug cartels, and the Jersey State Penitentiary respectively and turn them into personal assistants.

Ranger met up with them at Steph's apartment building and found his men walking two little dogs each. Briggs and Stephanie between them. It was the funniest thing he'd seen all month. Steph saw him and waved. Handed off her dogs to come over. She leaned into him for a kiss and the round line of her belly pressed into his belt. "What's up?"

"It's a nice day. Thought I'd go to Atlantic City."

"You weren't going to sneak off without me, were you?"

"Sneak is a strong word."

"Oh my god, you were!"

"Babe, you have enough to deal with without adding this."

"A sick psychopath freak broke into Morelli's house and left me a human heart because I was there for three seconds. I don't like this. I don't like that he wants to kill me. I don't like that he wants to kill you. And I don't like that Morelli is now involved. I want this creep found and eliminated. I'm in. I know what he looks like and what he sounds like and what he smells like."

"What does he smell like?"

"Burning sulfur."

"Steph, I understand your emotion, but you'd serve no purpose today. You'd be a liability."

"So let me get this straight. You only have me tag along when I serve some useful purpose, like being a dumb bimbo in a bar?"

Shit. He was starting to remember why he'd resisted relationships for so many years. This had quickly become a no win scenario. Either he admitted that he needed her and put her in harm's way, or he pissed her off with a dis and ditch. Neither one had great potential for the longevity of their relationship. "Last time I took you Vlatko hunting you ended up bleeding."

"I also got information you wouldn't have gotten otherwise. Risks verses rewards."

The fact she was one hundred percent right was a real pain in his ass. "Babe."

He bit down on his teeth and opened her door. "She's coming with me," he said to his men. "Jose and Rodriguez, follow me. Stay a quarter mile back. Keep channel 1 open. Roger and Mario, help Briggs walk the dogs and then return to Rangeman."

"I need my messenger bag," Steph said to him.

"Why?"

"Identification, lipstick, cellphone, and Morelli's gun, which has bullets in it."

"Get it."

ooo

Usually he had strict rules about speeding and Rangeman vehicles, but given the stakes he was willing to make an exception. Helped that he was running his radar detector and laser scrambler. Steph made some noises under the engine rev. Turned on by the Indy 500 pace. He resisted the urge to encourage her during the quick hour drive. They needed to stay focused.

He turned off Route 30 into a neighborhood that skirted the line between low income and 'hood. Parked at the end of the street where they would have a clear view of the small cinderblock bungalow Viktor Volkov called home. Only activity in 30 minutes was a single car pulling up to the motel across the street. Kind of place that charged by the hour.

"Research said Volkov is supposed to have a van he uses for his business. I don't see it here. Could mean he's not home."

"You're thinking we should poke around?"

"It's as good a time as any."

They left the Porsche and walked to Volkov's house. No answer to the obligatory knock. Didn't answer his cellphone either. Ranger picked the lock and let them in. Did a fast walk-through. House was dark. Two bedroom, furnished for one. Heavy-duty plastic body bag in the second bedroom. Looked like it had an occupant. "Stay here. I need to get a pair of disposable gloves out of the car."

"Not happening. I'll get the gloves. You can stay with whatever that is."

"It's not gonna move, Babe."

She got a full body shiver at the suggestion and beat feet out the door. She wasn't thrilled about having to come back. Stood at a distance when he donned the gloves and unzipped the plastic. He knew it was dead before he'd gone two inches. Cloying smell barely covered by the lime. Steph inched the rest of the way out of the room.

Ranger was no stranger to dead bodies. Only a few had been this decomposed. The lime obscured some of the details, but it wouldn't have effected the rate of decay. Looked to be mid-fifties. Fit the height and weight he would have expected. There was too much bloating to get a reliable facial match, but he was fairly certain he had a positive ID.

He snapped off the gloves on his way back to Stephanie. "Male. Partially decomposed, but I could see enough to guess it's Volkov. The corpse is clearly missing a heart, so that's one mystery solved." He regloved and searched the rest of the house. No sign anyone was squatting with the dead guy. Didn't find any van keys either. And most important, he couldn't find Volkov's ID badge or credentials. He bagged the second set of gloves and waved Steph toward the front door. "No way to lock up. There weren't any keys in the house. No house keys. No car keys."

"Vlatko wanted the van."

"And the identity. If you don't have a stooge to bring airborne poison into a building, you might come in as an HVAC tech. I'm sure Vlatko learned from Rangeman. He'll be smarter if he attempts to use the polonium again."

"Are you going to call this in to the police?"

"I'll have someone make an anonymous call from a phone card. I don't want to be involved." They got back in the car and turned toward the beach. "The trade show is at the Roland Atlantic Hotel. It gets a lot of smaller conventions. There are seven hundred attending this one. Approximately half are from overseas. Vlatko could be there to take out someone who looks benign but is secretly an enemy of the state."

"The eye patch puts him at a disadvantage. There aren't a lot of men who look seventeen and only have one eye. I doubt the woman in the consulate would have remembered him otherwise. Maybe you should be working with the police to find him."

"If the police arrest him he's inaccessible to me," Ranger said. "I don't trust the system to permanently lock him away. It will be hard to tie him to the Rangeman incident, since the only witness is dead. If they catch him with the polonium he could be charged as a terrorist, especially if I testify against him. For obvious reasons, I'd prefer not to do that. I'd rather not have my black ops history made public. If they suspect him of murdering Volkov but can't prove it, he'll have his visa revoked and he'll come back under a new identity to kill me and everyone associated with me."

"So we're on our own."

"More or less. I have an FBI contact I trust. He'll be working with me. And I have Rangeman."

Ranger drove down the boardwalk to the ten-tier parking garage attached to the Roland Atlantic hotel and casino. The Roland Atlantic was a badly refurbished monstrosity that looked like someone had eaten too much birthday cake and then thrown up. He called Jose and Rodriguez to wait in the garage while he and Steph took the covered third floor skywalk to the elevators that went down into the casino.

It was about the crowd that you'd expect for a Monday afternoon. Lot of walkers and gray hair. Slot jockeys riding their choice of steed so long the fat drooped over the edge of their seats. Smelled like whiskey and desperation. The flashing lights bouncing off the gaudy Easter basket swirled floor and ceiling. "Unzipping that body bag didn't bother me, but I'm going to have nightmares over this casino."

Steph rolled her eyes, but under that she smiled. "What are we looking for?"

"Nothing special. I wanted to see the space." Even if it was the stuff of nightmares.

They moved through the first floor and up to the second, making a mental map. Exits, service desks, bars, a restaurant advertising all-day breakfast buffet and Bingo. There was a ballroom and the conference center on the mezzanine level, next to the pedestrian bridge. The ballroom was empty. Set for what he could only imagine was a wedding designed by a three year old with a Barbie fixation. White tablecloths with huge pink bows and pink and white artificial flower centerpieces. Two foot risers for the head table. Smaller table for the massive cake still unfrosted and cooling near a standing fan. It was almost as horrific as the cake-puke casino.

"This is so romantic," Steph said next to him. "Does it give you ideas?"

If he thought for one second she was being genuine he might have had to rethink a few things. He wrapped an arm around her and dragged her close, kissing her short and very unchaste. "Yes, it gives me ideas, but not about marriage. Mostly about setting fire to this atrocity."

"It's not that bad. It's sort of growing on me."

Cute. As if Stephanie Plum would ever go for big, or flashy, or _pink_. She'd about gagged over the dress Amanda Kinsey put her in. Favored jewel tones over pastels in her everyday wear. She'd be more impressed by classy and streamlined. Blacks and silvers accented with bold color. And amazing food. Food would probably be half his budget, once you accounted for the booze. "I want to see the meeting rooms and the conference center. Then we need to look at the mechanicals."

"I'm thinking what we need is the all-day breakfast buffet."

Considering the way she was eyeing that cake, that was probably a good idea. He checked his watch. "You have thirty minutes."

Steph made a bee line and loaded her plate with all the things that'll kill a person. Waffles, bacon, sausage, home fries, scrambled eggs, sliced ham. All with a sticky bun on top. Looked at him like he was missing out when he got fresh fruit and smoked salmon on top of half a whole grain bagel. She wolfed it all down in record time and pushed the plate to the middle of the table with a satisfied smile.

"Still got ten minutes," he told her.

"I can't eat anymore. I'm stuffed."

"Think you can still walk the floor? Because we've got a lot of ground to cover and it would be inefficient to roll you."

"Just get moving, smartass."

She tagged after him up the escalator back to the mezzanine. He checked out every meeting room on the way to the convention center.

"Why do we need to see all this?" she asked as they cross the bridge.

"The trade show opens tomorrow at eight o'clock and ends Thursday at five. We think Vlatko was sent to take out someone at the trade show. My best chance to catch him will be when he's occupied with his assignment, but without knowing the exact target building blueprints will only get me so far. I needed to see some of the public areas for myself."

"This is a big building. How are you going to find him if he's in an air duct somewhere?"

"Assassins only crawl around in air ducts in the movies. In reality, it would be impossible to fit and an inefficient way to get around. Not to mention noisy. There's a reason Vlatko acquired a HVAC tech ID. He'll use it to gain access to the building, and likely the air handlers that service the room where his target is staying. Assuming he's using the airborne polonium again."

"I get the value of polonium at Rangeman. He wanted to infect everyone who worked for you. Why use polonium here? Why doesn't he just shoot his target?"

"There are advantages to something like polonium. It kills slowly, so there's not likely to be an immediate investigation. In fact, the death might not even be ruled a homicide. And if polonium is suspected as the agent of death, it sends a terrifying message to whoever else is involved."

He listened to his men over his com call signing their positions as he and Steph went through a set of double doors that led to the convention center, passed through a food court containing more slot machines, and took the escalator down to the cavernous first level. Hotel employees were only using a fraction of the floor to set up a reception area for the vodka makers.

"Hard to believe this room would be involved," Steph said. "It's so big. Vlatko would have to have a ton of polonium to do the whole space, and I don't see how he'd be able to target just one stall."

"I've been told Gardi carried enough polonium to infect all of Rangeman and everyone in it, if it had been properly disseminated. The total volume of this room plus the second-level food court is more than the total volume of Rangeman, but Vlatko could probably dump enough contaminant into the system to make a lot of people sick."

"Do you think that's his goal? To make people sick?"

"No. I think he needs to eliminate someone."

Steph caught sight of Malone when they left the convention center. He could read off her face she thought Malone was too wall-of-man-meat to pull off the casual Friday look. Would have probably been more at home carrying a 60lbs pack through the desert than he was in khaki shorts and a powder blue polo.

"Clever disguise."

"It gets better. I have a man on every exit, and I think Ramon is wearing a hotdog suit, handing out coupons to Good Dogs." They were walking the boardwalk to the casino entrance when Tank's spoke in his ear. He steered Steph through the slots to the guest elevators. "I'm told we have a room on the seventh floor."

"How do you know all this stuff?"

He showed her the earbud. "I can hear, but I'm not sending right now. Tank is at Rangeman coordinating assets here at the hotel."

"Is your FBI contact on sight?"

"No, but he has men here. They're working their way through the hotel, floor by floor, checking all the air handlers."

"This is a big operation."

"Bigger than I would like it to be, but public safety is involved."

"Out of morbid curiosity, what happens if the FBI does the takedown on Vlatko?"

"They talk to him, and then accidently turn him over to me for safekeeping."

"And he'll escape from you, never to be seen again?"

Ding ding. Get the woman a prize. "This isn't gonna help my karma."


	63. Chapter 63

AU of Top Secret 21, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Sixty-Three

Steph

I thought, given the tension, that the possibility for sexy times was low when Ranger brought me up to our room. When he knock on the door at the end of the hall and Hal answered, I realize that possibility was zero. He let us into the one-bedroom suite, which was decorated much the same as the rest of the hotel. Pink and green wallpaper with pictures of big pink flowers, white and gold furniture. Pink sateen bedspread that would discourage an erection from the most manly of men. The dining room table was positioned in front of the wet bar, covered in stacks of files, blueprints, and a MacBook Air with printer. Rafael was in jeans and a t-shirt at the Air. Handed a paper to Ranger. "Ryan hacked into the hotel's system. I have the room numbers you wanted."

Ranger looked at the paper, selected a file from the stack, and went to the couch. "Has Viktor Volkov registered yet?"

"No, but he has a room reserved."

Ranger gestured to me and I snuggled in next to him, my folded legs overshadowed by the belly. "With the help of the FBI we've designated seven men as being possible targets," Ranger said to me. "All but General Semov have checked in."

"Is he the guy getting the white glove treatment from the consulate?"

"Yes. He has the entire tenth floor. High security."

"Why is he so special?"

"He went to soccer camp with the Russian president. He's powerful. He's rich. He's ruthless. Some say he's too ambitious."

Ranger showed me the file. Semov was fifty-three. Married twenty-three years, though his inner circle knew he was unfaithful in a way usually seen in rock stars and NBA players. FBI intelligence said his more talkative girlfriends tended to vanish unexpectedly or experience fatal freak accidents. "Who would want him dead?" You know, aside from anyone halfway decent.

"The list is long, and it includes his best friend, the president. It's whispered that the president is worried about job security."

"So is Semov at the top of our list?"

"He's at the top for motivation, but he would present a unique challenge for assassination. He's constantly surrounded by his military aides. It's like Fort Knox on the tenth floor."

"What about the ventilation system?"

"Every floor has a mechanical room with air handlers. The polonium would need to be placed in that specific location to effect the floor. It's not difficult to do, you could accomplish it with a screwdriver, but a couple of days ago the tenth floor was sealed. An HVAC tech would have to be thoroughly vetted to gain access, and would likely have a guard with him at all times. I don't think Vlatko's cover would hold up to that kind of scrutiny."

"The guy at the consulate said their VIP was an important speaker."

Ranger nodded. "He's giving the keynote address at lunch tomorrow. Owns a distillery in Moscow."

"Do we have a number two target?"

"No one obvious."

"You've probably already had someone at Rangeman hack into the hotel's security cameras."

"We've got a live feed running in the control room in Trenton. If anyone sees a man fitting Vlatko's description, we'll know about it in real time."

"And you've been asking the staff and guests if they've seen him?"

"I didn't want to risk blowing anyone's cover. Not when the risk/reward ratio is so low. My men don't exactly exude the _talk to me_ vibe."

"And that's why you have me."

"You have an angle? We could check out the bimbo stores on the ground floor and see if there's a honeypot outfit that'll hide the baby bump."

"I'll do you one better."

We took the elevator down to the lobby and looked in at the bar. The stools were filled with men speaking Russian. "Jackpot. So what's the plan?"

I gave him a coy smile and walked into the bar in my jeans and wrap shirt. Pregnant belly fully displayed in all its glory. The first men I approached were startled. I leaned into that confusion and showed them the picture of Vlatko on my phone. "Excuse me, but have any of you seen this man?" Gave the belly a telling rub. "I really have to tell him something."

They all looked really hard at the photo. Then at the belly. The headshakes ranged from apologetic to _poor shmuck_. I tried a few others. None of them had seen Vlatko, but one of them did offer to take his place. Look at that. I still got it. I returned to Ranger. "That was fast."

"Like I said. People bend over backwards for a pregnant lady."

The lobby was suspiciously empty when we left the bar. It could have been the afternoon lull. Maybe not that many people chose to check in this time of the afternoon. Then I spotted the men standing at the entrances. A service elevator near the concierge desk opened and six men in full military regalia stepped out, followed by a man in an even more elaborate uniform.

"General Semov," Ranger said to me.

He looked as terrifying as his reputation.

The seven men crossed the lobby to a waiting guest elevator, and then they were gone. The whole parade taking all of ten seconds. "So much for the Semov experience," I said to Ranger. "Was the FBI able to get onto the floor to check his air handler?"

"Yes."

We wandered down into the casino to check out escape paths and I felt my phone vibrate against my ass. Morelli was calling. I had to press the phone to my ear to hear over the stimulation overload created by the slot machines. "Hey. Are you still at work?"

"No, I'm at my cousin Maddie's house for Uncle Lou's birthday party, but I'm starting to pray for a body to turn up. It's hell here. The kids can't play outside because it's raining, so they're running around wild, chasing Bob and feeding candy to my hundred year old Uncle Manny. Even if I made your shortlist for godparent, I can't imagine why you'd pick me. I'm completely useless at managing this kind of chaos."

"Your patience in the face of chaos is the _reason_ you made the short list."

"Where are you? It sounds like you're inside a video game."

"Close. Ranger and I are in a casino in Atlantic City looking for Vlatko."

"Should I be encouraged or worried that you're hunting the guy who left you a heart?"

"Not sure, but we found the guy the heart belongs to."

"Just the one?"

"So far."

"Let me talk to Ranger."

"No. You're gonna yell at him."

"I don't get to yell at him, I'm not your boyfriend anymore, remember?"

"I don't see that stopping you."

"Did you used to protect me like this when we were going out?"

"What was it you called for exactly?"

"Thought you might want to know that we got ballistics back on Poletti. Matched the slugs pulled out of his friends. We're looking at one shooter. Captain approved surveillance on Buster's apartment."

"That's great. What about the feds? Are they still not sharing?"

"Same ol' same ol'."

"So they haven't told you yet who Poletti and his friends were getting drugs and girls from in Mexico when he was pretending to be transporting salsa containers back and forth across the border?"

"No. How did you know about the drugs?"

"You said the DEA was involved, and Miriam Pepper was complaining about how her garage is full of cans of salsa. Made me think salsa wasn't actually a part of the business plan. If I was a betting person, I would put money on the shooter working for the Mexican partners. They can't be too happy that Poletti got arrested. He might have even owed them money."

"Think I need to talk to Briggs?"

"Couldn't hurt."

"Might even help me escape the loony bin. Thanks, Plum."

"Good luck."

I disconnected and put the phone back in my pocket.

"Everything okay in Trenton?" Ranger asked.

"Yep."

Ranger's posture tightened. Finger in his ear. "Tank has a visual on Vlatko. Mezzanine level, convention center."

We were standing near the front door. Ranger turned and ran out of the casino, down the boardwalk, and into the convention center. I got the convention center door just fast enough to see him taking the escalator two steps at a time. I scrambled to keep pace for about fifteen steps and gave up. I could never move as fast as Ranger when I _wasn't_ six months pregnant. I was sure there were plenty of pregnant women who could run and do yoga and see their toes. I was never going to be one of them. He stopped at the top of the escalator, and I let the steps roll me up behind him at their leisure.

"Tank lost him," Ranger said, moving toward one of the concession stands. "He exited through the door by the frozen yogurt bar."

I knew I was in trouble when the only words of that I caught were frozen yogurt bar. Until Ranger unholstered his gun. He opened the door and looked into the service area. Two elevators and a stairwell. No cameras. This wasn't unusual for a hotel, but it did present a major security flaw. Vlatko could move undetected in the maze of service hallways if the cameras only covered the public areas. "Call Mac," Ranger said to Tank. "Tell him you got a visual and he needs to have a man go through the belowground service area."

"Mac's the FBI guy?" I asked him.

"He's not my primary contact. He's boots on the ground." Ranger holstered his gun and stepped away from the doors.

"You don't want to go after him?"

"Not blind, and not with my backup unarmed and barely keeping up. I want to go back to the room and look at the hotel blueprints."

Hal was the only one in the suite when Ranger went in and unrolled the blueprints, shifting to the page that showed the lower levels. Anchored the corners with bottled water to keep them from rolling back up.

"Do you think you have him trapped?"

"I'm not counting on it. He's insane, but he's not stupid. I'm sure there are ways to slip out of that underground maze." He marked the blueprints with a red marker. "These are the exterior exit points. Two are to the rear of the building. A loading dock and a single door. I have a man on both, and the hotel has extra security there because Semov and his entourage are using the back door. I've also got a man on the employee side entrance that leads to the locker rooms."

"What about the elevators and stairwells?"

"I don't have the resources to cover every floor. The mechanical rooms are next to the service pantries off the stairwells, where housekeeping keeps the extra linens and toiletries, but they aren't connected, and the hallways are all covered by video. If he sets foot on any floor we should see him."

"So all we can do now is wait?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to go for gelato?"

Ranger looked at me like I had corn growing out of my ears.

"I'm just saying. They have a gazillion flavors of gelato at this little kiosk next to the all-day breakfast place," I said. "And I thought it might be refreshing."

Ranger smiled. "There have been times when I seriously considered marrying you, but then I'd get yet another black mark on my path to enlightenment and forgiveness and I would scratch marriage off my bucket list."

"Really? You think about marrying me?"

"Depends. How in love are you with the ultra-pink Barbie wedding, because that could be a deal breaker."

"I don't know, it was pretty romantic. Very classy."

He knew I was joking and he still cringed a little under the smile. Ranger wouldn't be caught dead surrounded by pink. The all black wasn't just for his image. It was about simplicity. The Batcave had proved that. Ranger hadn't grown up with money, and even though he had it now, it was more a means to an end than a status symbol. I'd never thought about the kind of wedding Ranger might be a part of, mostly because I'd never in a million years considered it to be on his radar, but now that it was out there it seemed terrifyingly clear.

Simple. Elegant. Intimate. And maybe, possibly, if the stars aligned _just_ _right_ , involving me.

Oh boy.

"So… about that gelato?"

"Sure."

"I don't mean to be listening in or anything," Hal said. "But if you're bringing gelato back, I like Banana Surprise."

Huh. Two hundred and fifty pounds of muscle packed into a body that was more Marvel character than man, and he liked Banana Surprise gelato. Go figure.

ooo

Ranger

Steph had gone skittish again when he'd said it, but she hadn't shut down. Kept playing banter with him like the idea wasn't giving her an internal panic attack. That was promising.

Tank's voice was in his ear again. "Another visual. Ninth floor. Moving from the service pantry to the mechanical room. Wearing a HVAC tech uniform and mirrored sunglasses."

"Copy," Ranger answered. Turned to Steph. "Wait here. Tank's caught another sighting."

She wasn't eager to run again, but she also wasn't thrilled with him going alone without backup. He didn't want to tell her that the only reason he hadn't chased Vlatko to hell and back in the service tunnels was because of the chance he could have doubled back and snatched her from behind.

"I'll be quick, Babe."

"Be careful."

They both knew she didn't have to say it. But he liked hearing it anyway.

Ranger hit the seventh floor pantry and jetted up two flights. Swung around the corner to the mechanical room weapon first. He gave the room a quick sweep and found no sign Vlatko was ever there. Guy was a ghost. He touched his com. "Is he on the move?"

"Negative. You should be on top of him."

"Hal, give Stephanie your earbud."

He waited a second while there was a shuffling, and then Stephanie was on the line. "Did you get him?"

"No. He's not here, and Tank didn't see him leave the room. There must be a way out that doesn't show on the blueprint."

She went quiet. Shuffling of papers. "There's a window."

He checked it. Glass was frosted and closed but not locked. He opened the window and looked out. A wrought iron ladder ran up the side of the building from the second floor all the way up to the roof. "There's an emergency fire escape running parallel to the line of mechanical rooms. He could be using it to scale the outside of the building and avoid detection. I want someone on the street to watch for activity."

Tank acknowledge. Ranger closed and locked the window and went to the air handler. Used his penknife to remove the side panel.

"No evidence of a canister in the air handler on this floor, but if Vlatko wants to use the aerosol polonium, this is probably how he'd do it. He could put the canister on the coils and set the timer. Fan would blow the polonium into the guest rooms. At least, that was likely his plan."

"Do you think it's changed? He has to know we're here looking for him," Steph said in his ear.

"Depending on the details of his assignment, he may not have the flexibility to change his plan. His superiors would want a specific result. And unless he's hacked our coms, which isn't likely, he'll have no idea how many people are looking for him."

"Wouldn't he assume you'd be working with the FBI after what he tried to do to Rangeman?"

"I only met him briefly, and it wasn't under ideal circumstances, but I learned enough to know his mindset. Vlatko sees me as his Western counterpart. And he works alone. He'll assume I'm out for blood on my own too. The real life version of Spy vs Spy."

"Boy. He's in for a rude awakening."

She really was sunshine. "You still want that gelato?"

"Definitely."

"I'll be right down to pick you up."


	64. Chapter 64

AU of Top Secret 21, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Sixty-Four

Steph

Lobby activity was picking up downstairs. Afternoon crowds were mostly seniors and diehard gamblers. Evenings were when the younger crowd showed up for a good time. Ranger had a hand on the back of my neck at the gelato cart while I looked over the flavors. "There are so many, I can't choose."

"Do you want me to choose for you?"

"No!"

He looked at his watch. "You have thirty seconds."

"I want Tiramisu. No, wait, Strawberry. Maybe Caramel Swirl."

"Ten seconds."

"Mango, Coffee, Chocolate Marshmallow…"

"She'll have Tiramisu," he said to the girl at the counter. "And a large Banana Surprise." He looked at me. "Always go with your first instinct."

"You're not having any?"

"My first instinct is to pass."

I took my gelato back upstairs and commandeered the bedroom while Ranger and Hal worked at the dining room table. I watched television, ordered room service, and shut the door against the stream of men coming and going, reporting to Ranger.

I made some phone calls to let Connie know I wouldn't be in the office tomorrow, and to ask Lula to look in on Briggs and the dogs. Talked to Grandma when she called for a ride. I told her I couldn't help because I was in Atlantic City. Then I snuggled down into the sheets. The activity level in the other room was constant and steady. No sudden rushes of urgent excitement. There hadn't been anymore Vlatko sightings. I switched out the lights and fell asleep. Woke up at sunrise with Ranger in the bed next to me, one arm tucked around me to hold me against his chest.

"Is it safe to assume half of Rangeman and an FBI SWAT team are crashed out on the floor in the living room?"

"They have a room next door. I was going to let Hal sleep on the couch, but I thought getting rid of him in the morning would be an extra step." He pressed a hot kiss to the back of my neck.

"I'm wondering why I felt compelled to do this. I haven't been especially effective."

"Babe, aside from Tank spotting him twice, none of us have been effective. Most ops start out like this. Ton of planning. Lot of sitting around waiting for the right alignment of circumstances. When we make progress, it'll happen fast and all at once." He skated his fingers down my spine, following the line slow as agony with his mouth. "You just have to be patient."

"Patience isn't my best quality," I breathed, the sensations getting the better of me. Ranger was very good in close. It never took him much to talk my body into just about anything.

He smiled against my back. "I've noticed."

I felt behind me until I touched skin. Pretty easy since Ranger sleeps naked. I wrapped my hand around him and held on. The enthusiasm growing not just in his body, but in the cleverness of his fingers. He had the complete and total attention of every inch of me, all the way through. His teeth grazed my back when a finger slid inside me. Other hand tracing a sensual line down my leg. Easing it back in a delicious stretch so that he could wrap it around him. He replaced the finger and filled me up. Listening to my body without needing words as he took complete possession of me.

Then his finger grazed an area I considered a no go zone.

I gasped my surprise. Especially since it wasn't unpleasant.

Ranger smiled into the back of my neck. "You alright?"

"Yes. I just wasn't expecting it."

"But you didn't hate it either."

"It's not a thing I do."

The smile turned into a grin. "You liked playing tie me up in the Batcave, and you left marks on my body. I think you're more adventurous than you realize."

"Not that adventurous."

"Maybe it's the Batcave that makes you adventurous," he said, rolling me onto my back, strong arms sculpted and hard as they supported all of his weight.

God he was so sexy. "Maybe."

He wrapped my legs around his waist again and sank deep. Knowing by instinct when he found the right spot. He had me singing in seconds. Black eyes holding mine until the moment crashed over me and I lost the room. I was a limp noodle of happy when he landed on the mattress and he pulled me over him. Nestling us together. He kissed my sweaty forehead. "Something tells me you're gonna need a minute before you'll be able to take a shower."

"Are you bragging?"

He laughed. "Just an observation." Kissed my lips. "I have to get to work, but you can take your time." Bit my ear. "And maybe next time we can try that in the Batcave. You might just like it."

I was going to say not likely, but it ended up as more of an internal Eek! Truth is there'd never been anything I'd done with Ranger that I didn't like. Ranger could make a good girl forget she had hang-ups. Ranger inspired trust. Ranger was magic.

He left me on the bed to take a shower and I fell back asleep in my post orgasm glow. Rested for an hour before I dragged myself out of bed and into the shower. When I came out of the bathroom there was a shopping bag on the bed with a new shirt and some lingerie. The lingerie was black and lacy. The shirt was red, with rhinestones that spelled out ATLANTIC CITY across the chest. I had some doubts the shirt would fit my belly, but when I pulled it on and let it fall, it was just long enough to cover the dark elastic panel waist of my jeans.

All the guys looked up and smiled when I came out of the bedroom. Resident babymama. "Thanks to whoever picked up the clothes. It's great to have something clean. I'm surprised the store was open this early."

"Only for you," Ranger said. "Rafael did the shopping."

Rafael was at the computer with a big grin. "I know what the ladies like."

Hal didn't quite roll his eyes at the second computer, but I could tell he wanted to.

I looked over the food spread out on the dining table and selected a croissant. Most of it was standard fair for a Ranger breakfast, except the croissants and little jam jars. Ranger was leaning against the breakfast breakfront with a cup of coffee, dressed in Rangeman black fatigues. All his men were dressed for action. Armed and ready. "You look like you expect something to happen today."

"Intel has picked up chatter that there'll be an event involving Semov. Mac has two extra men on him. One with Semov, and one checking Semov's environment. Semov is scheduled to remain in his suite until eleven forty-five, at which time he and his entourage will make their way to the ballroom where he'll give the keynote address. He's vulnerable when he's moving. He could get swept along in the crowd, and Vlatko would only need to come in contact with him for a few seconds to deliver the polonium. Personally, I don't care if Semov dies, but I don't want to miss the opportunity to take Vlatko down.

"I need to put you on the mezzanine level this morning. It's going to be a mob scene when everyone leaves the convention center and moves into the ballroom for lunch. Find a place where your back is to the wall and you can watch the people entering the ballroom. Vlatko has probably changed his appearance. Colored his hair, ditched the eyepatch, added a beard, whatever, so you need to look for other things, like suspicious behavior and the tattoo. You have an advantage because you've actually seen him."

"How soon do you want me out there?"

"I'd like you in place by ten o'clock."

"Were there any more Vlatko sightings?"

"No. I have someone watching the ladder running up the side of the building, but Vlatko hasn't used it."

"Maybe he's already infected his target and he's on his way back to Russia."

"Possible. That's why the polonium is so useful. You can eliminate someone and no one necessarily knows for days, maybe weeks or months."

My phone buzzed into the quiet and I answered it. It was my mother's house. "Is everything okay? I'm out of town with Ranger on a job."

"What's this I hear about you sleeping over at Joseph Morelli's house?"

"It was nothing."

"It doesn't sound like it was nothing. It sounds like you're expecting a child with a man who adores you and you spent the night with someone you used to be _almost engaged to_. Where was Ranger when this was happening?"

"In New York. With Rangeman locked down and my apartment burned out again it was sort of a limited options thing."

"Why didn't you stay here?"

"Ranger wanted me to stay with somebody who had a gun."

"Ranger knew?"

"Of course."

I could hear she was struggling. There was likely to be a lot of ironing after I hung up, at least until it was a reasonable time to start drinking. I could only imagine how she was going to react when I told her Morelli was probably going to be co-godfathering with Tank. "How are things there?"

"Your father is out with the cab, and your grandmother is on one of those senior trips for the day, so it's nice and quiet. She's on her way to Atlantic City."

Crap! Double crap!

"Do you know which casino she was heading to?"

"No. She just said she was feeling lucky."

I said goodbye to my mother and tried Grandma's cellphone. No answer.

I didn't think the odds were good that, of all the casinos she could come to in Atlantic City, she would end up here. It was crummy and out of the way, and filled with booze salesmen. But then, weirder things had happened to me.

Frequently.

ooo

Ranger gave me an earbud a little before ten o'clock. "I have this set so you can communicate with me and with Tank. He'll be watching the video feeds."

I took the elevator to the mezzanine and found a place in the hall with a good view of both the ballroom doors and the mechanical room at the far end of the hall. One of Ranger's guys was stationed on the pedestrian bridge, looking only slightly out of place. I was sure there were more. I just couldn't see them from here.

I was at my post about fifteen minutes when Grandma called. "Where are you?" she asked.

"I'm still in Atlantic City. Where are you?"

"I'm in some traffic on the road to Atlantic City. The bus from the Senior Center broke down before we even got on, so I called up Lula to see if she felt lucky too. We're trying to decide on a casino. I like the new one with the jungle theme, but Lula says she's partial to Caesars. What casino are you at? We could come visit you."

"No visits! I have to work. And I'm not at a great casino anyway. Go to Caesars and I'll call you later."

I went back to my duties. After an hour my eyes were crossing from the monotony. "This is boring," I said.

"Boring is good," Ranger said into my ear.

People had started drifting into the convention center a few at a time. Gathering in clumps outside the closed ballroom doors. I'd tried the doors earlier, just for something to do. I knew they were locked. The vodka people didn't seem to mind, though. I was betting from their high spirits that there had been a lot of vodka tasting going on that morning.

I watched a man come up the escalator and cross the floor. He was serious faced. Plain button-down blue shirt, tan slacks, scuffed brown shoes. Slight gun bulge under his sport coat. Practically screamed FBI. Got close enough I could see the old school curly wire hanging out of his ear. Not a high tech earbud like might. Definitely FBI. He'd be jealous of my earbud.

"Anybody home?" I said.

"Babe?"

"Where are you?"

"I'm waiting at the service elevator for Semov."

"On my floor?"

"Yes. Then I'll stay with him on the walk to the ballroom."

The FBI guy passed by me and went to the end of the hall. Used a key to open the door to the mechanical room. I told Tank.

"I've got him," Tank answered. "He's going in to check on the air handler."

"Just saying."

"Hang tight," Tank told me.

People were arriving at a steady rate now. Filling the hall in anticipation of the ballroom doors opening to let them into lunch. Ranger announced it when Semov was on the move. Came out through the service pantry with his six aides, two FBI agents in plain clothes, and followed by Ranger. They cut a path through the crowd and vanished through a door at the far end of the ballroom. Moments later, the main doors opened and the crowd moved inside.

I looked down the hall at the mechanical room door.

"Did the FBI guy come out of the mechanical room?" I asked Tank.

"I didn't see him come out. He might have been told to stay there until the banquet is over, but I can't talk to him. He's not on my frequency."

I walked down the hall and knocked on the door. "Hello? Are you okay in there?"

The door opened, an arm reached out and grabbed me, and I was yanked inside.

" _Oh shit_!" Tank said into my earbud.

My back slammed into the door, a hand at my throat. All I caught was a glimpse of someone in a ball cap before I was hit in the face, the back of my head banging the wood. I doubled over trying to breathe. There was a body on the ground, laying in a growing pool of blood. The FBI guy's throat had been slashed.

Vlatko grabbed my neck again and dragged me up. His hair was dark brown under the ball cap. His sunglasses stuck over the brim. I could see every inch of his horrible scar. Ragged and stitched together and pale, marring his face from his eyebrow to his cheek. So horrible I barely registered the lightweight gray hoodie and jeans. I could see his tattoo. And I tasted blood.

He said something to me, but my head was still reeling. "What?"

Vlatko smiled. Held me up while he leaned down to pick up the com that had fallen from my ear. "Are you listening?" he said into it. "I have your girlfriend. She's going to be my ticket out of here. If anyone comes near me, I'll take the baby out of her first. And then I'll gut her. She's already bleeding," he said. Taking every last pleasure in it. "Wouldn't take much to finish her off."


	65. Chapter 65

AU of Top Secret 21, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Sixty-Five

Ranger

The instant he heard Tank say _Oh shit!_ he knew it was Stephanie. Then he heard the scuffle. Her sharp pained exhale and whimper. And then a voice that had been seared into his brain was in his ear, triumph crackling through the obvious grin. "You're mine now."

Steph was panting and hurt, but there was still steel in her spine. "What?"

Ranger was on the move already, trying to get out of the hall through the half-drunk crowd. Vlatko's smile got stronger. "Are you listening?" he said right into the earbud. "I have your girlfriend. She's going to be my ticket out of here. If anyone comes near me, I'll take the baby out of her first. And then I'll gut her. She's already bleeding," he said. Taking every last pleasure in it. "Wouldn't take much to finish her off."

"Fuck," Tank breathed.

The earbud ticked like it'd been dropped on the floor, and then the line fritzed out. He'd crushed it. Good thing Ranger had hedged his bets. "Tank, give me her backup line."

"It was some sixth sense bullshit sewing a mic into her clothes."

More like years of experience.

Tank flipped a switch and Steph was back. Ranger's heart beat again. God damn it. He shut himself out and turned over to his instincts. Fighting to keep the fear in the backseat. He couldn't afford to panic. Not now. Not against this opponent, with these stakes.

Steph was breathing.

He had to focus on that.

"You killed him," Steph said. Speaking of the FBI agent she'd gone looking for. Knowing Vlatko, the dude was probably in pieces.

"He came in at the wrong time. I was placing the polonium."

"You're going to poison everyone in the ballroom?"

"Clever, don't you think?" the psycho said, unaware that Tank and Ranger were still listening. "An act of terrorism. A political statement rather than a planned assassination of a single political figure. I admit it hasn't gone as smooth as I'd hoped, but the job is done. And I have you. You'll get me out of here, and then I'll skin you alive and leave you for, what's his name now, Ranger?"

"Fucking hell," Tank said in his ear.

Ranger couldn't mirror the sentiment. He was too focused on not parting the crowd via unloading his magazine into the ceiling just to get to the door faster.

"It won't work," Steph said. "They know we're in here. Someone will burst in any second and stop you."

"Too late. The polonium's in the system. In fifteen minutes it will reach the ballroom."

"All those people…"

"Dead."

"We've got to evacuate," Tank said.

The fire alarm started wailing from somewhere overhead. Red lights flashing. Sprinklers going full spring rain in the ceiling. Ranger covered his ear to protect the com. "That was fast."

"That wasn't me."

Ranger hit the hall before the mass exodus and ripped the mechanical room door open, leading weapon first. Aside from the dead FBI agent, the room was empty. He swept the corners to be sure. Found the fire alarm had been pulled. "It was Steph." He didn't see any more than a few spots of blood on the floor. Possibly from a broken nose or a split lip. Minimal damage from the initial struggle. "They didn't exit through the door?"

"Negative."

Window was locked. Didn't see any other access points out of the room. He could hear Steph on the move over the stampede of convention goers leaving the building. They had to have gotten out somewhere. Ranger scanned the room for anomalies and saw a storage cupboard that wasn't quite closed. Found a hole to the service pantry behind it. "They're on the service stairs."

Vlatko had ordered her _Up_ a minute ago. And now _Out._ "Out where?" she asked him.

"Onto the ledge."

"Are you crazy? Do I look like Spiderman? That ledge is a foot wide. I'm two feet wide and front heavy. I'll fall and die."

"You could die here."

"Let's put that as plan B. Maybe plan F."

"Move."

"Where do you expect me to go exactly?"

"Inch your way to the covered pedestrian bridge to the parking garage."

"And then?"

"You're going to drop onto the bridge."

"Seriously, have you ever tried being pregnant?! I have trouble tying my own shoes!"

"Go!"

"Tell me we have visual," Ranger said to Tank.

Tank was quiet a moment. Coordinating with the rest of their assets. "Rodriguez has eyes from the street. They've gone out a window on the fourth story by the bridge. If you take the stairwell up a flight, you might be able to follow."

"And then he'll throw her off just to spite me." Same result with sniper fire. Ranger opened the window and looked out. He could see the pedestrian bridge beside him. The roof was wide and flat. Only a few feet from where Steph was being forced to shuffle on the floor above him. And about a four foot drop. He could see where it joined with the corner of the parking garage, blocked by the five foot concrete safety wall that surrounded each floor. That was Vlatko's goal. To drag himself and Steph over that five foot wall to freedom.

At least, that's what Ranger prayed was his goal. He couldn't figure how Vlatko planned to get Steph and her pregnant belly over that wall. There was an equal chance that he'd deem her dead weight.

"Redirect backup to every exit on the parking garage. Then touch base with Mac. Make sure he relays what's happening to the first responders. They need to know the polonium is in the air system."

"Copy."

Ranger hit the door and shoved into the evacuating conventioners. Sprinting across the pedestrian bridge to the parking garage. Took the stairs two at a time. He could hear the running progress in his ear. Steph arguing with the psychopath. Play by play from his men on the ground. He reached the corner the same time as Steph and Vlatko. Pressed his back to the wall.

"Here's what's going to happen," Vlatko said. "I'm going to give you a boost up, and before you even hit the ground on the other side, I'm going to be over the wall. So don't think about running away. If you even attempt to run, I'll catch you and kill you."

Her fingers appeared at the top of the wall. Uneven breaths panting just over the other side. There was some grunting. And hefting. And then her upper body rolled over the top of the wall, her arms trying feebly to support her weight while she swung a leg over. She saw him, and her face flashed relief and then terror. Vlatko already swinging up. Ranger snatched her off the wall and grabbed hold of Vlatko midair. Vlatko slashed with his knife and Ranger flung him out into the sky.

The fall was almost graceful.

Until he hit the street four stories below like a busted scarecrow.

Ranger knelt beside Steph, her back against the wall. She was wearing blood, but she wasn't bleeding anymore. Battle wounds. He always hated when she was bleeding, but at the moment it was the most incredible sight he could have imagined. "Is anything broken?"

"Holy crap," she said, eyes welling. He brushed the tears away and helped her to her feet. Peering over the ledge with her to see Vlatko sprawled on the road beneath them. "Do you think he's okay?" she asked.

"Babe. He's one inch thick."

"Your arm is bleeding."

"He tagged me when I grabbed him." Truth was he hadn't even felt it. Still barely registered. No way the damage could be anywhere close to what almost losing her again would have meant.

"How did you know we'd be coming over the wall?"

"I was listening to you the whole time. I didn't trust you to hang onto the earbud, so I had a mini-microphone sewn into your shirt. It's just under the rolled hem on the neckline."

She looked down. "I thought it was just another rhinestone."

A battalion came running toward them across the garage. Mostly Ranger's guys. Two FBI suits. A hotel security guard. Rangeman secured the perimeter while the suits came over. Looked over the ledge. Then looked at Ranger. "What happened?" one asked him.

"He jumped."

The agent nodded. "I figured. I could tell by the way he sailed out into space."

"He released the poison," Steph said. "He told me it would reach the ballroom in fifteen minutes."

"The fire alarm emptied the entire hotel," the agent said. "The ballroom emptied in less than ten. Right now we're waiting for the hazmat team to suit up and go into the mechanical room to retrieve the canister. We'll know more when they get the canister out and take air quality readings in the ballroom."

Steph was finally calming down enough to noticed the blood. "My face hurts all over. Where's all the blood coming from?"

"You're getting a bruise on your cheek. You have a small cut on your lower lip. You were bleeding from your nose, but that seems to have stopped. You have a puncture wound on your neck from his knife."

"I'm a mess!"

He pulled her close, wrapping around her with a tender kiss. "You're beautiful. You evacuated the hotel and you delivered Vlatko. You're fucking Wonder Woman."

ooo

Steph

The street below us was clogged with police and fireman and vodka salesmen. No one was being allowed back into the hotel.

"What's next to us?" Ranger asked the hotel security guard.

"It's the new jungle themed casino. The Monkey Pod."

Ranger told Tank to get a suite and an extra room at the Monkey Pod, along with a new change of clothes for both of us. He also asked someone to bring a first-aid kit from one of the Rangeman cars. We took the elevator to the ground floor and left through the back, away from the crowd. Ranger's men came with us. The FBI went to check out Vlatko.

The manager at the Monkey Pod met us in the lobby and escorted us upstairs. This hotel was even worse than the birthday cake one. There were monkeys everywhere, even in places you would typically think of as monkey free. They weren't happy looking monkeys either.

Ranger took the key card and got rid of the manager with all the expected pleasantries. Gave one card to his men for the room next door. Closed our door to shut out the world and all its horrors. The room itself was its own kind of horror, but at least it was weird enough to serve as a distraction. Ranger guided me to a chair at the dining room table and opened the first aid kit. Examining my face with care. "Doesn't look like there was any significant damage," he said, dabbing some of the blood away from the cut on my neck with an alcohol swab. "Does it hurt anywhere else?"

"No. He punched me in the face once and he held me at knife point, but he didn't get a chance to do anything terrible."

Ranger made a quick assessment anyway. Checking around the blood stains on my clothes. Making sure my nose wasn't broken. It was all brisk and methodical. Fierce protector instead of tender boyfriend. I touched his face with both hands and he finally paused. Dark eyes looking at me. Not just dilated, but completely in shadow. I'd seen the look in his eyes before. After Orin was killed. The one that said the ghosts from his past would never truly rest.

I pressed my forehead to his and I felt the tightly strung wire in him ease. Drawing a breath as he gathered me close. He kissed me and all his careful control was gone. My body pressed as close to his as possible without him pulling me out of my chair. He broke the kiss and leaned his cheek on mine. Hands on my belly and holding tight. Ranger wasn't a man who showed a lot of emotion. Kept it to himself in a dark box buried deep in his soul. But, for just a moment, he didn't hide it from me. And I knew without a doubt that I really was the love of his life.

Just like he was mine.

I looked at the place Vlatko had cut him. His black shirt was glistening, plastered to his skin. Likely going to be yet another scar in the roadmap of his dangerous life. He followed my eyes and almost smiled. "I'm going to rinse off in the shower so it'll be easier to tell how deep this goes. You're welcome to join me."

"That's okay. I'm going to need a minute before I'm ready to think about anything sexy. I can still see flat Vlatko when I close my eyes."

Corners of his mouth twitched when he kissed my forehead. Probably he was thinking the name Flatko like I was and was just too mature to say it. "You know where to find me if you change your mind."

I went into the powder room to wash up while Ranger turned on the shower. My cellphone buzzed in my pocket. Grandma. "There's a big to do in the street here by the hotel that looks like a birthday cake. The fire alarm went off and everybody left right when some guy jumped off a building and went splat. There's police everywhere and they got the street roped off, but not before I got a real good look. Where are you, did you get to see any of the commotion?"

"I'm at the Monkey Pod. We just checked in."

"We're out on the boardwalk. Boy, I'd love to see one of those rooms. Do they have the monkey theme like the casino?"

"Yep. There are monkeys everywhere."

"I don't suppose we could come up just to take a peek?" Grandma asked.

"Gee, I don't know. We're still working. Let me check with Ranger." I covered the phone and stuck my head into the bathroom. Got a good look at Ranger under the spray of water. Rivulets of red running down his arm. God, a body that perfect could go a long way toward erasing thoughts of a squished assassin. "Grandma and Lula are downstairs. They want to see the room."

"As long as neither of them wants to get in the shower with me."

I gave Grandma the room number and hung up. A few minutes later the doorbell screamed like a monkey. I let Lula and Grandma in. "Look at this," Lula said, pushing past me. "This is the shit. I've been in a lot of hotel rooms, but this here's nice. This suite is for high rollers."

I thought maybe the room was for people who wanted monkeys to haunt their dreams, but everyone's entitled to their opinion.

"There's a separate bedroom," Grandma said, vanishing into the room. "And it's got it's own television. And there are monkey lamps and a monkey bedspread with a bunch of monkey pillows."

"Yeah, but that's nothing," Lula said. "It's got it's own kitchen area with bottles of wine and all kinds of fancy shit."

"There's even a second bathroom in here," Grandma said.

Lula was poking around in the mini bar when my exhausted brain registered that. _Oh my God!_

"Babe!" Ranger called from the bathroom. "Come get your grandmother."

I found Grandma standing frozen outside the glass-enclosed shower, staring at a dripping wet Ranger with glassy eyes. Ranger was staring back, not especially concerned that he was naked.

"It's like she's paralyzed."

Mesmerized was a better word. There aren't a lot of sights that were better than Ranger naked. I got to see it several times a day and I still had to scrape my jaw off the ground sometimes. I grabbed hold of Grandma and yanked her toward the door. "At least she didn't try to get in the shower with you," I offered.

Grandma was still glassy-eyed when I shut the door. "It was like staring into the eyes of a cobra," she said in awe. "Seeing Ranger naked has always been on my bucket list, but with him being your boyfriend and the father of my next great-grandbaby I didn't say it out loud. That was even better than I thought. I don't care if I do anything else on my bucket list. That was amazing. It was like a religious experience."

"What was a religious experience?" Lula wanted to know.

"I just got to see Ranger naked."

"Get the heck out! I wanna see Ranger naked."

"It was an accident," I said. "It's not happening again."

"Hmph."

"Don't worry," Grandma said. "I got it memorized. I can tell you all about it on the way to Caesars."

"Well, I guess that'll do since Stephanie won't let me see the real thing."

I walked them to the door and locked it behind them. Ranger was out of the shower when I went into the bedroom. Hair wet, body wrapped in a white hotel towel. "Sorry about Grandma," I said. "She got away from me."

"She just stood there staring. It was eerie. I was afraid she'd had a stroke."

A stroke of good fortune, I thought. Not everyone was lucky enough to see Ranger naked. "How's the arm?"

"It's not deep. I'll get it checked out after I've touched bases with Mac, but I doubt it'll need stitches." He grabbed a couple fistfuls of my shirt and dragged me up against him. "Still need that minute?"

"I would need to take a shower first. I'm still covered in blood."

The grin said he wouldn't care what I was covered with. "Then let's get you cleaned up."

Yep. I really was a lucky girl.


	66. Chapter 66

AU of Top Secret 21, contains canon plot points and some dialogue.

* * *

Chapter Sixty-Six

Ranger got a text from Mac while we were in the shower together. The containment team had retrieved the aerosol cartridge and determined, based on the timer, that the ballroom had been evacuated well before the poison could have reached any of the people in it. Mac had been able to shut down the ventilation system too, so most of the gas was trapped in the duct. It was a relief to know that no one was going to die.

Raphael came to the door with a couple bags of clothes and an apologetic smile. "I did the best I could, but everything downstairs has monkeys on it."

"Thanks. I'm sure they're great," I told him, accepting the bags.

They weren't. Don't get me wrong, it's always nice having clean clothes to get into, especially when the clothes you were wearing previously were covered in blood, but it turns out blood was only slightly more distressing to wear than monkeys, and I was dressed in them head-to-toe. There were even monkeys on my underpants. The saying "Out of sight, out of mind" did _not_ apply to monkey underpants.

Ranger wisely opted to go commando. The only article of clothing he had to change was his shirt. Rafael had managed to get him a black polo shirt with a single monkey stitched over the left breast. Probably the most tasteful thing in the store. I was more than minorly jealous.

Ranger needed to stay in Atlantic City to debrief with the FBI, so I passed on Lula and Grandma's offer of a ride home and stayed with him. I watched some television in the monkey bed with an ice pack on my bruised cheek, and then I took a nap. Not an easy thing to do when everything from the lamps to the walls were staring at you. We checked out of the hotel at nine the next morning, glad to be heading home. I made the rounds of calls, starting with Connie. "I don't have anything new," she said, "but Lula's in a state. She says she saw Ranger naked?"

Oh boy. "That's not exactly accurate."

"It was Steph's granny that saw him," Lula said from nearby. "She paints such a vivid picture though it feels like I saw him. I got a real good image in my head of Adonis painted in milk chocolate. 'Cept with more inches, if you know what I'm sayin'."

I backed out of the conversation before things could get weird. Called Morelli. "I was curious if you'd had any breakthroughs in the case."

"You could say that. Miriam Pepper had a few too many Manhattans for breakfast yesterday and tried to make herself some scrambled eggs. Set her bathrobe and half her house on fire."

"Is she okay?"

"Yeah, but here's the good part. When the fire marshal went into the basement, he found bricks of high-grade Mexican marijuana stacked up like cordwood, plus some rocket launchers and stuff to make firebombs. The husband lawyered up, but Miriam spilled. Incidentally, I know motive for why Poletti's youngest kid would target Briggs. Apparently he's really fond of Miriam. They'd hang out, drinking Manhattans and smoking weed together. He thought getting rid of Briggs would protect her. We picked him up this morning, high as a kite. Got a full confession."

"He was the firebomber?"

"Yep. Two apartments and a Mercedes."

"Randy will be relieved. He won't have to hide anymore."

"Speaking of hiding, how's your manhunt going?"

"All done."

"Is it safe to assume he didn't end up in federal custody?"

"Parts of him did."

Morelli winced and we said goodbye so I could call Randy and give him the good news. "You're off the hook. They arrested Oswald Poletti for the firebombs."

"The stoner? Why would he want to kill me?"

"He was friends with Miriam Pepper and he thought you were a threat."

"Well how do you like that? I go through the trouble of keeping my mouth shut and this is the thanks I get."

"You were keeping your mouth shut so you wouldn't go to jail."

"That's a technicality."

"How are the dogs doing?"

"Most of them have got the leash figured out. They eat really well too, except the bony one with the white tip on her tail. She's a picky eater. But if I put a little cheese in with her food she gobbles it up. I think I can get her fattened up in no time."

"You like them!"

"Maybe. Except for Blinky. He's the ankle biter. I think he has trust issues," Briggs said. "Your super stopped by today. He said he can paint on Friday and the new carpets go in on Monday. I've got a job interview today, and my new credit cards and the insurance money came in, plus a good chunk of money from my old apartment building to encourage me to live elsewhere. So I'll be going apartment hunting after the interview."

"You know, I'm not really using the apartment anymore. I might be willing to let you sublet until my lease is up."

"Really?"

"Sure. You can't be any worse a neighbor than I was." I thought about warning him that every bad guy in Jersey knew the Bombshell Bounty Hunter lived there, but I figured if he didn't already know that it was his own fault. Probably when the bad guys broke in looking for me, he'd knee bite and crotch punch until they severely reconsidered their life of crime.

Ranger kissed my hand after I hung up, eyes still on the road. "You're gonna let Briggs crash at your place indefinitely?"

I shrugged. "No sense holding onto it, right?"

"Right."

"Besides. I realized something during all the home shuffling."

"What's that?"

"It's not home if you're not there."

Ranger smiled, eyes warm when he looked at me. He didn't even say _Babe_ that time, but I knew what it would have meant if he had. My heart beat a little faster, all warm and fuzzy, and I couldn't stop the dopey grin.

We went home to Rangeman to shower and change into non-monkey related clothes, and then we went to see Doctor Weston. We gave him the redacted version of events. No sense in explaining the whole black ops/crazy Russian assassin part. But I was pretty sure he got the picture. Checked us over very thoroughly. Seemed almost surprised when he gave both me and the baby a clean bill of health. I think he was starting to think we might _both_ be indestructible.

Ranger checked in with his control room as we were leaving and got some news. There'd been an arrest at Buster Poletti's apartment. It had been Morelli's collar, but there weren't a lot of details. Ranger saw to a few things and then we were in the Porsche again. Stopped by the convenience store to pick up a six pack. Joe's green SUV was in the driveway when we got there.

"This is a surprise," Joe said when he opened the door.

"Got time for that beer?" Ranger asked him.

"Yeah, sure. Come on in. I just picked up a pizza if you want some."

We followed Joe into his living room and settled on the couch. Joe got a bottle of water from the fridge for me and we all dug in. "I heard you made an arrest," I said.

Morelli nodded. "Turns out all the poker players were in business together. Pepper would send his trucks down, and girls and pot would come back along with the salsa. Scootch, Siglowski, Poletti, Ritt and Buster all had their hands in it. When Poletti got arrested and things when sour, there was a lot of money owed to the Mexicans. They sent an enforcer to collect, and he systematically shot the players when they didn't pay."

"Why didn't they pay him?"

"The money wasn't there. It wasn't liquid. Briggs had talked Poletti and Pepper into long-term investments and land deals. The Mexicans wanted cash."

"Briggs said Poletti had a ton of money stashed somewhere."

"Not stashed. Invested. In a chicken processing plant in Nogales. The plant was a total rust bucket infested with salmonella."

"What's going to happen to Buster and Pepper?"

"I don't know. That's for the feds to sort out. Speaking of," he said, still staring at me in the improved living room lighting. "You look like you went ten rounds with somebody."

"Occupational hazard."

"Yeah? What's the other guy look like?"

I thought about it. "You know when you crack an egg and the yolk busts?"

"Know what, nevermind. I don't wanna know."

ooo

We hung out at Morelli's until I started yawning, a clear indicator that I was on my way to being a pumpkin. It had been kind of nice in an easy sort of way. Morelli and Ranger didn't once posture or get territorial. Instead, we stuffed our faces with pizza and tossed out terrible baby names and Ranger actually finished a whole beer. He slung an arm around my shoulders on the walk to the car, kissing the top of my head. "Morelli really is a good guy."

"Good enough to be a godparent?"

"I think he could certainly prove a valuable asset in a child's life." He looked at his watch. "We should get you home to bed if you intend to go to work tomorrow. Never know what kind of scumbag might skip bail."

"Boy, that sounds tempting. But I might need a few days off after Vlatko."

"Understandable. You know, you can take any days off that you want. I'll make sure your covered, even if you decide to try out maternity leave."

"What would I do with myself if I went on maternity leave?"

"You could go clothes shopping. Put together a nursery. Drag Mary Lou or your mother to the baby store and coo over itty bitty booties."

"Say itty bitty booties again."

"No."

"So if I wanted to only work two or three days a week…"

"Babe, if you want, I'll let you handpick all your cases. Anything that doesn't sound interesting or worth your time can go to one of my men. And if you need a puzzle to solve that doesn't involve chasing down felons, I could always use an extra set of eyes at Rangeman."

"I might have to think about that."

Ranger opened my door and held my hand when I lowered into the car. Came around to his side and angled in, the engine catching with a sexy roar. He put a hand on my leg. "So, since you're taking the day off tomorrow you don't have to go to sleep right away. How tired are you?"

I bit my lip, enjoying the feel of his hand on my thigh.

He really was the love of my life.

"I think I've got just enough energy to make us both happy."


	67. Chapter 67

AU of Plum Crazy

* * *

Chapter Sixty-Seven

Steph

2 weeks until due

To say I was ready for motherhood would be like saying an unsuspecting person thrown out of an airplane was ready to fly. I'd been growing a baby for nine months now. Didn't mean I felt qualified. You don't magically grow up and get mature just because somebody's going to be depending on you. Yet here I was counting down the days until the most important and terrifying responsibility of my life, whether I was ready for it or not.

I blew out a sigh.

"What's up?" Lula asked me. "You second guessing this plan?"

"I'm always second guessing this plan."

"What do you gotta second guess, your pregnant ass is staying safe in the bulletproof car. I'm the one about to go into the lion's den. We shoulda made Vinnie do this one. He deserves it."

"Vinnie doesn't pick up skips anymore."

"What about one of your baby-daddy-assigned hotties? Where the heck are they? I thought the Man of Mystery didn't let you outta the house without an honor guard."

"That's backup when I'm working. I've been on official maternity leave for almost a month now. Ranger doesn't need to waste manhours so one of his guys can watch me eat donuts at the office or waddle around the mall. Only reason I'm here is because you asked me to come for moral support."

Lula wasn't exactly a natural fit when it came to bounty hunting, but since Ranger had stopped taking skips and I was the size of a house, Vinnie had found himself in a tight spot. Ranger was willing to put his men on anything high stakes and dangerous enough to make financial sense, but he didn't make a habit of sending his guys out for low bonds unless it was a case I wanted to handle personally. Which left Lula to pick up the slack on the petty thefts and the public intoxications.

The latest miscreant to slip the system was one I was definitely glad I got to pass on. Her name was Lupita Ortiz, but most people called her Loopy. And it wasn't for short. I've never had the pleasure of meeting Loopy Ortiz in person, but I read the file Connie had included with the bond agreement. Arrested for drug possession, solicitation, and assaulting a police officer. Not hard to fill in the blanks on this one.

"You think if you call in for backup Rangeman will send over a human riot shield?" Lula asked me.

"That seems like overkill for someone who slapped a cop."

"Say what? You know this chick is batshit crazy, right? Maybe I should at least have my gun at the ready, just in case."

"No. No guns. With our luck you'll shoot her. There's a lot of paperwork involved if you shoot her. And the police wouldn't like it. It makes them cranky."

"How about the taser?"

"No taser."

"Pepper spray?"

"No!"

"Hunh. I'm starting to think you don't appreciate the fullness of the situation here."

"There's nothing to appreciate. All you have to do is knock on the door and invite her to get rebonded. I'm sure she'll be reasonable."

Truth be told, I thought there was a snowball's chance in hell she was going to be reasonable. Actually, I thought there was a pretty high likelihood that there would be a lot of swearing involved. Maybe some chucking of random objects. But I also knew starting off locked and loaded would be bad if things decided to escalate.

Loopy lived in a rundown little house on the edge of Trenton. Single story. Blotchy lawn. An overgrown flowerbed that hosted impressive collections of weeds and shrubbery. Loopy was a fairly recent addition to the Trenton population, having moved here from Newark a couple months back. She'd wasted no time at all growing a reputation. The police officer she'd slapped the hell out of hadn't been the first person she'd assaulted since her arrival. He'd just been the only one to press charges.

I pulled my Mercedes up to the curb and let Lula out. She pulled the edge of her poison green miniskirt down over her voluptuous chocolate ass, her basketball sized breasts spilling out of the matching low cut top. She had on a fluffy white angora jacket that matched her platinum blonde bob and strappy white four inch heels. The only suggestion she was aware of the early spring chill. For years I'd felt nearly invisible standing next to Lula. Now that I was staying in the car watching her head into battle, it was hard not to appreciate that Lula looked as unprepared as I felt. "Okay. Maybe you could take the taser. Just keep it out of sight unless you need it."

"Damn skippy."

She dropped the illegal stun gun into her matching white purse and sashayed up to the door on her four inch heels. She knocked on the front door. No answer. Turned to me with a palms up gesture that said _Nobody's home_. As if that had been a magical password, the door on the single car garage started to open. Lula and I exchanged a look and she hurried toward the sound while I inched my Mercedes to block the driveway.

The garage was just as small and cramped as you'd imagine, being attached to a house the size of a garden shed. Walls obscured by moving boxes and piles of clutter. And in the center stood a matte black Harley Davidson. It was lethal. And sexy. And undeniably masculine. I won't lie. Something about it turned me on a little.

A woman came out from between the boxes and stopped in her tracks. Staring. She was about my height. Wavy, thick black hair highlighted golden brown and hanging loose around her shoulders. The bond agreement said she had ten pounds on my pre-pregnancy weight, but I could tell just by looking at her that every ounce of that difference was muscle. Her skintight jeans didn't muffin at her waist, her bare midriff showing several inches of smooth, creamy brown skin under the edge of her black leather bustier. Knee high spike heeled leather boots completed the hardass biker babe look. I was getting a feeling that if things did escalate, Loopy could kick ass from here to Newark.

I couldn't hear the exchange from where I was sitting, but whatever Lula said didn't go over well with Loopy. The head shake started small. Then her big hoop earrings were swinging. She walked up to the Harley like she was going to hop on it and run Lula over before she rammed me, and I was regretting my rash decision to not let Lula keep hold of her gun. Then Loopy's hand went into the saddlebag, maybe for a knife or a gun.

She came up with a chain.

Crap.

"Run!" I shouted.

Lula didn't need telling twice. She'd started booking it. Moving way faster than you would expect 230 lbs of woman on four inch heels to move. Her sausage casing dress rolled up in all the wrong places, but she made it to the car. Whipped the door open and planted her ass in the passenger seat, slamming herself in. Loopy was swearing up a storm, thick, ten foot chain singing across the dry concrete as she barreled toward the car. The chain thwacked my roof and I peeled away, leaving a livid Loopy shrieking in the middle of the street, the chain dragging at her side like a freaking jilted harpy.

I could hardly breathe. "Omigod! What the fuck was that?"

"That there was you not listening to me. I told you she was crazy. She was arrested for solicitation and she ain't even a ho! That chick has about fifteen screws loose."

"What did you say to her?"

"Same thing you always say!"

"That you represented Vinnie and she needed to reschedule her court date?"

"I mighta also told her my name was Stephanie Plum."

"You what?"

"It just popped out! I'd like to see you try an' think straight when you're facing hell spawn. I can still smell burnin' sulfur." Lula was fanning herself, fighting to get her skirt back down over her ass in the seat. "Lord, I need me a donut. That there was a frightening experience. I can feel my blood sugar dropping as we speak. I need to fortify my strength."

I wasn't about to disagree. Sometimes you just needed a mental health donut. We stopped at the Tasty Pastry and picked up a nice healthy dozen before I took Lula back to the bond's office. Then I turned toward home. I was tired and uncomfortable and I wanted a nap. In fact, the cool crispness of the penthouse apartment at Rangeman was quickly becoming the only place I wanted to be.

Growing a person had never been easy, but the last few months had given me a new level of gratitude toward my mother for doing this not once but twice. I was always short of breath with the baby pushing all my guts up into my lungs, and I was eating constantly. And sleeping? Forget about it. On the rare occasion I actually managed to find a comfortable position with the giant beachball strapped to my front, it never failed that a minute later I would suddenly need to pee again. If it weren't for Ranger I wasn't sure I would be sleeping at all. Ranger had taken my growing body in stride. Doing whatever was necessary to keep me relaxed and satisfied, whether it was massaging my sore back and feet, or making love with increasingly creative positions, or letting me nest my belly against him while I tossed and turned, putting off enough heat to light a furnace. It was earning him some serious points, even if I did already love him more than life itself.

I parked the Mercedes in my spot by the elevator and fobbed my way up to seven. Shed my bag with a happy sigh. I made a stop in the kitchen first to get a snack, and then migrated to the bedroom. It took a lot of nest building and pillow twisting, but after a few minutes I was cradled like a boat docked on dry land and finally ready to sleep.

Almost.

Ugh. Stupid bladder.

I finally managed to drift off with my second attempt and didn't wake until I felt the telltale change in air pressure that meant I wasn't alone. Ranger hardly made a sound crossing the room. Pulled back the blankets just enough to kiss my belly in greeting. "Did you wear Mommy out again?"

The baby nudged and squirmed in answer.

Ranger chuckled and kissed my belly again, then stretched out on the bed next to me, tugging my pillow away so that he could cradle my body against his. Stroking my belly. "What time is it," I asked him. "Don't we have to leave for my doctor's appointment soon."

"We still have ten minutes. I thought you might need a little transition time before you were ready to run. Word is you had an adventure this morning."

"Not sure you can classify it as an adventure if you never take off your seatbelt."

"Lots of loopholes in that definition, Babe. What was it that scratched the paint on the Mercedes?"

"Lula's skip didn't like her sales pitch and came after her swinging a chain."

Ranger brushed his smile to my forehead. "Do you need extra hands?"

"Shouldn't, but I'll let you know."

"Your mother called earlier and asked me to remind you about dinner tonight."

"Ugh. I forgot."

Smile grew. "Really? You forgot?"

"Okay, I didn't forget. But you know Val will be there with Albert and all the girls. That's eleven people! Squeezed around a table that's meant for eight!"

"You know we've gotten off easy so far, right? Your mother could have started expecting the big family dinners sooner."

"She only let us off easy because she was afraid the circus would scare you away. And so you know, it's still weird that my mother calls you. I don't think I'll ever get used to it."

"It's even weirder when your granny texts me."

"Remember when you used to be the big bad bounty hunter everyone was afraid of?"

"Believe it or not, Babe, but there are still some circles that find me intimidating."

"Are you bragging about being scary?"

He kissed me. "Just stating a fact."

"We could tell her we came down with something," I offered.

"Don't think that'd fly, Babe."

Sigh. "It was worth a shot."

ooo

Ranger

Steph was considered full term, even with her official due date still a couple weeks off, so the doctor's appointments had become a regular weekly ritual. Took her blood pressure, checked her cervix, made sure there weren't any red flags. Mostly it was the same as last week, and the week before. A general reminder that things could happen any day. Ranger'd already packed her a go bag. Kept it in the cargo area of her Mercedes. Had smaller secondary bags in his Turbo and in the Cayenne. In his experience, the best way to keep from worrying was to be overprepared. Account for as many variables as possible.

Steph turned skittish when it came time to head toward dinner at her family's house. Helen wasn't the only one afraid that facing the family circus would scare him off. As if there was anything at this point that could. Steph's granny had seen him naked for fuck's sake. If that wasn't a welcome to the family, he didn't know what was.

Edna was waiting for them on the front porch like always, Steph's niece Angie standing beside her. Angie was about Julie's age. Twelve going on forty-five. Pretty much radiated the same matronly quiet Steph's sister did. He barely caught Steph's grimace when she saw Angie standing watch. Light, absentminded brush of her hand across the belly. Considering how much she loved her nieces, there was only one thing he could make of it.

Steph had never quite fit the subdued suburban housewife mold laid out by every Burg matron who ever presided over an overly traditional family. Personally, he loved that about her, but he could tell that it had always made her feel left out. Inadequate. As if the fact it took more than the perfect pot roast recipe and discount furniture polish to excite her somehow made her wrong. And now there stood her twelve year old niece, barely a woman and already in training for the role Steph could never fill no matter how many parts of herself she sacrificed.

He lifted her hand to his lips. "I feel like I don't tell you enough just how incredible you are."

"Incredible like a natural disaster?"

"Incredible like an ass kicking crime fighter," he said, kissing her empty ring finger. "I find the thrill seeking rebellious streak to be very sexy." She bit her lip, but couldn't stop the coy smile. He pulled her closer and brushed a reverent kiss to her lips. Then angled out to come around to her side and lift her out of the car.

The living room was on par with the kind of chaos he was expecting. Ten-year-old Mary Alice was on the floor, the 3-year-old riding her back like a horse. Albert had the bawling baby and didn't look one inch like he knew what he was doing. Valerie was trying to direct him down the baby-needs checklist, but she was as pregnant as Steph and didn't show any signs she was able to get up and assist. Steph and Valerie were only due two days apart, but where Steph was mostly a more tired version of her usual self, Valerie's dial looked to be hovering just below critical meltdown.

Mary Alice bucked and little Lisa fell off, doubling the number of tears in the room. Albert's overwhelm flipped to panic. Handed the crying baby off to Ranger without a thought and scooped Lisa up to calm her.

Both Steph and Val went still. Not sure what would happen next. Ranger didn't exactly have a demeaner that screamed nurturer.

A few seconds of obvious surprise was about all there was and the crying pretty much stopped. The women watching him cradle the fifteen-month-old with practiced hands. "She likes you," Val said with a level of awe reserved for minor miracles.

Ranger shrugged. "Three of my four sisters have kids. I know my way around a baby."

"And you have a daughter, don't you?"

He nodded. Keeping the bittersweetness to himself. "Toss me the diaper bag."

Val hesitated, unsure whether she should insist changing diapers was beneath a mercenary's dignity. She obeyed, though, and watched with fascination as he laid the baby on the sofa and whipped through the change faster than he could field strip an AR. Helen walked into the room to announce dinner and froze in her steps, as mesmerized as Steph and Val. Ranger closed up and bagged the evidence, lifting the kid to his chest again. Helen held out her hands, accepting the baby with a gooey eyed glisten of a grandma who'd just realized the scary man who got her daughter pregnant was in fact ready and willing to be a daddy. She was beaming. "Dinner's on the table. When you're ready."

ooo

Steph

I was sure when the evening started that it was going to be an epic disaster, but it ended up being pretty okay, even if my mother had squeezed nine chairs, two highchairs and two very pregnant ladies all around the same dining room table. The girls had adored Ranger, who had listened to Angie's facts and Mary Alice's fancy with a smile, and even put up with Albert when he got into a flustered ramble. My mother had been glowing.

To say my mother hadn't always liked Ranger would be a gross understatement, but since we'd started seeing each other, she'd not only come to acknowledge that he was a good man, I think she was starting to see him as an irreplaceable member of the family. If we were married, Ranger would have cemented his permanent position as the favorite son-in-law.

Who was I kidding. We could choose to never get married and Ranger would still be the favorite son-in-law.

Ranger kept an arm around me on the walk back to the car, helping me into my seat. "That wasn't so bad."

"You were expecting a train wreck too, weren't you?"

"I was at least expecting some third degree on why we're not married."

"I think that was because of the diaper changing. I think you short circuited my mother's brain and sent her into grandma meltdown."

"Babe, we're days away from having our own. It can't be that surprising that I'm willing to get my hands dirty."

"See that's where you're wrong. I went out with Morelli for four years, and not only did he never change a diaper, I'm not sure I've ever actually seen him hold a baby."

From the mouth twitch, I guessed that Ranger was thinking about smiling.

My phone started buzzing. I fished it out of my purse and grimaced. It was Randy Briggs. He'd been subletting my apartment for the last three months, a choice I'd come to regret on occasion when he would call to complain about the outdated bathroom or the lingering smell of burnt apartment. I held back a grunt and answered. "If something needs fixing you need to call the super. I can give you Dillan's number again if you need it."

"It's not about the crappy apartment. Well, not entirely."

"Then what is it?"

"I just thought you'd wanna know that somebody just tried to throw a Molotov cocktail through the living room window is all. I'm not currently on anyone's hit list, so I figured it was meant for you."

"Hey, I'm not on any hit lists anymore either, I've been on maternity leave."

"Well, you must have pissed somebody off. Whatever it was was high proof, too. The side of the building is still burning. You might want to come over here and see for yourself."

I disconnected and sighed. "Someone's trying to burn down my apartment again."

"Any guesses who?"

"Beats me." Then a thought crossed my addled pregnancy brain. "Cripes. Lula said she got flustered this morning and told her skip she was Stephanie Plum."

Ranger nodded. "That'd do it."


	68. Chapter 68

AU of Plum Crazy

* * *

Chapter Sixty-Eight

We were just around the corner from my old apartment, so it didn't take more than a minute to get there. The fire engine arrived right after we did. All of us staring up at the glowing blue patch of flames burning themselves out over the brick. It had been a near miss. Another couple inches and Briggs would have been roasting marshmallows over his living room couch.

The bushes under the wall hadn't been as lucky.

A familiar green SUV pulled into the parking lot only a few minutes after we did. Morelli got out and came over to where Ranger and I were standing, Ranger's arm around my shoulders. Didn't bother hiding his smile. "What did you do this time?"

I made a grand gesture to the belly. "Do I look like I'm capable of doing anything?" I asked him. "This was a misunderstanding."

"So you don't know who you might have pissed off lately? Maybe a crazy chick with a welded link chain and a bad attitude?"

"You heard about that?"

"Are you kidding? We may not be an us anymore, but I still get a dozen phone calls every time your name pops up. Constanza said he talked to Briggs. He said Briggs saw someone matching Loopy Ortiz's description peeling away on a black Harley after the fireball. I'm guessing Loopy doesn't know you don't live here anymore."

"I forgot to file a change of address form with the Bureau of Criminal Insanity."

"You want to be careful. She's got it out for you."

"Technically she's got it out for Lula, but I get your point. I'll be careful. Promise."

Morelli didn't look convinced, but he smiled anyway. Probably because he knew Ranger would handle this personally before he would let me get anywhere close to 'not careful'. Joe looked me over, the softness returning to his eyes. "How are you feeling? Are you clawing up the walls yet begging this kid to get out?"

"Nope."

"Really?"

"Okay, so I kind of miss second trimester when I didn't need four pillows and prayer just to sleep. But I'm not so uncomfortable that I couldn't do this a few more weeks. Truth be told, I'm not looking forward to giving birth. I've seen the videos. It doesn't look like a good time."

"I hear that. I've never witnessed it myself, but I've heard war stories. At least you've been going to the classes, right? That's gotta help."

"I'm days away from pushing an entire human out of my lady parts. I was there for two of my sister's births. It's the equivalent of shoving a wet Saint Bernard through a cat door."

Morelli sucked in a breath. Guess he got a mental picture.

Ranger was still grinning when we got back in the car and turned toward home. "I think you freaked out Morelli."

"Morelli will be fine. Morelli makes his living looking at people who have been turned into swiss cheese. I'm the one who should be freaked out."

Ranger chuckled, rubbing my thigh. "You'll be fine too."

I was glad he was so sure, because I wasn't. Truth be told, I was nervous about more than just giving birth. I was nervous about after. I'd gotten used to pregnancy. I was really good at it. Eating all the right things and keeping track of the baby's movements. I knew exactly how to take care of him as long as he was on the inside.

As soon as he was out it would be a different story.

Ranger squeezed my thigh. "You'll be less freaked if you just say it."

"I don't know how to take care of an infant."

"You'll learn."

"Says you! You've done this before, I haven't. I can't even remember how to _hold_ a newborn, and my sister had one of those a _year_ ago, and now I'm going to have to bring one home and be left alone with it, and what if I'm not good at this? What if I'm not cut out for motherhood?"

"Babe, take a deep breath."

" _You take a deep breath!_ "

Pretty sure I heard a silent chuckle, but smart man that he was he tried to keep it to himself. He pulled into the underground garage and parked in his spot. Didn't say a word until we were up the elevator and safe in the quiet seclusion of our apartment. He devested me of my things and set them on the sideboard. Folding his hand around mine. "Steph, you're not going to be alone."

"I know, I know, we're in this together, but while you're at work—"

"Babe, I work in the same building we live in. At most I'll be two floors away. And I've already arranged my schedule to minimize meetings and other demands on my time over the next month," he said, leading me toward our bedroom. "And Ella wanted it known she's willing to help anytime, night or day. She was very clear on that."

"I'm still not feeling confident."

"You're not alone in that either."

"Yeah right. You're good at everything."

He stopped at the foot of our bed to face me and our eyes held. "Stephanie, I wasn't there when Julie was born. I was in the middle east. Didn't see her until she was three months old, and even then I might have held her twice. I may know my way around a baby as an uncle, but I'm in no way confident that'll translate to being a father."

I tried not to show how much that broke my heart. "So, we're on another learning curve together?"

"Yes."

I couldn't help when my eyes dropped to his chest. "Do you ever regret it?"

He didn't need to ask what I meant. His hands cradled my pregnant belly, caressing on his way around to my back so he could pull me close. "Julie's an impressive young woman. I wouldn't change anything about who she's become."

That wasn't a no.

Ranger lifted my chin and kissed me, soft and deep, and the worries started melting with my body. His fingers brushed under my shirt to my bare back. Lifting it off over my head. His clever hands only grazed my skin and my bra came loose. He slid it away while I pulled at his shirt, shedding it before he folded his big warm body around me. He lifted me against him and set me on the bed. Tugging my shoes off, one, and then the other. Didn't take more than a tug to get the jeans down. Thank you pregnancy panel. And then he was climbing over me, every line of his body screaming wild jungle cat.

I was too big for most positions, but Ranger hadn't been letting that get in the way at all the last several months. He brushed kisses over every inch of me. Rolled me to my side to ease the pressure on my body. Then he knelt over one leg, hooked the other around his hip in a modified doggy style and sank in deep. Lighting me up all the way through. His dark eyes held mine, the familiar faith between us, and I had to marvel that even nine months pregnant he still looked at me like I was the most sexy, incredible, desirable person he'd ever known.

Ranger was lying next to me when the bliss cleared. Nothing but sweat between us as he cradled my body with his. He tugged the sheets up over me and kissed my forehead, his lips lingered on my skin. "About your chain-wielding arsonist."

"Technically she's Lula's chain-wielding arsonist."

"If you're involved at all I don't see the distinction."

Sigh. Fair point. "What about her?"

The Ranger silence lasted for less than a second. And then it passed. "I want to send someone with you tomorrow. Make sure it's handled."

"I guess." I looked at him. His face annoyingly blank. "Was that it?"

"For now. But if she proves to be trouble, I'll be sending an entire team after her," he said, kissing my lips. "Even if she did just slap a cop."

ooo

Ranger was already gone when I woke up the next morning. Not an unusual occurrence. Ranger did wake up ungodly early most mornings so he could fit in a run or a sparring match with Tank before the day began. Most of the time he'd come back to bed for a little morning sex or a tandem shower. Have breakfast with me. Today the apartment was silent and empty.

I took a shower and dressed in a plain black maternity shirt and jeans. Pulled my hair back in a pony tail. I wasn't going to be physically involved in Loopy's takedown, but I was driving the getaway car, and that felt like I should at least _look_ like I was ready for action. I polished off the rest of the breakfast Ella had sent up and fed Rex a corner of toast. Picked up my messenger bag on the way to the elevator. Hal was waiting for me by my Mercedes. Full utility belt. Hal actually _was_ ready for action. For a fraction of a second, I was a teensy bit jealous. I beeped us into the car and drove to the bonds office. Lula wasn't overly enthusiastic about going after Loopy again, but Hal's presence went a long way toward soothing her objections.

We drove over to Loopy's place and parked at the curb across the street to get the lay of the land. I didn't see any activity. Not surprising. If I'd been up late attempting to throw a Molotov cocktail through a bounty hunter's window, I'd be sleeping in too. She might even be hung over. I'd talked to a fireman at the scene last night, and he'd said the booze bottle Loopy used had likely been Everclear. Everclear was like legal rocket fuel. About 95% pure alcohol. I'd never had the nerve to try it myself. My alcohol tolerance was so low that before I was pregnant, three glasses of wine put me in passing out territory. From what I heard, a single shot of Everclear would likely have the same result.

"What do you think the chances are that she's passed out in there?" I asked Lula.

"On a scale of one to ten? I'm gonna go with I don't want to find out on account a she might shoot us."

"Maybe you should take a look around."

"Are you crazy?"

"No. But we shouldn't miss an opportunity if she's incapacitated. Besides. Something feels off. Like she might not even be home." I looked to Hal. "What do you think? Should we go peek in some windows? See if the motorcycle is still in the garage?"

"Only if we means me. I promised Tank I'd make sure you stayed in the car."

"Then you'd better hurry."

Hal raised an eyebrow, but he obeyed. Got out and walked across the street. If it had been me, I would have been doing whatever I could to avoid attention. Hal didn't have that luxury. Hal was six foot four and shaped like a stegosaurus. Hal didn't have a blending in mode.

I watched him walk around the overgrown hedge and peer into the garage through the tiny window. I gathered from the thumbs up gesture that the black bike was in there. Meant Loopy was likely home too. He kept going and disappeared around the back of the house.

Lula and I sat there for several minutes fidgeting in our seats. It was too quiet. Lights out in every room that I could see from the street. Hal should have finished breaking in already.

Hopefully Loopy wasn't the type to sleep with a gun.

I jumped out of my skin when my phone rang.

"What is it," I asked Hal. "Is she in there?"

"Oh, she's in here alright."

I didn't like the way he said it. Made my stomach squishy. I slipped out of the driver's seat before I could think about it and went for the back of the house. Back door hanging wide open. The house was dark. And there was a slight smell to it I couldn't place. Familiar and foreign at the same time. My spidey sense was tingling, and not in a good way.

Hal flinched when he saw me. "You shouldn't be in here."

"Why?"

He was standing in front of a partially open bedroom door, his sidearm drawn but pointed to the floor. At the ready, but not on high alert. Not good. I had an inkling of what I would see when I opened the door, but I still couldn't keep from pushing it the rest of the way.

The room was abandoned tomb silent. Loopy lying in the bed, the sheets twisted up around her.

There was a bullet hole between her eyes.

I didn't breathe for a minute. At least, I think it was a minute. Might have been an hour by the way my lungs were burning. There was a sound behind me and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I squealed and Lula squealed back, a hand over her heart, mine going a mile a minute. "Jeez! You scared the crap out of me!"

Lula's eyes bugged out when she saw Loopy. "Holy cats! You shot her in the head?"

"No, I didn't shoot her in the head. You think I would do that?"

"I figured if it was self-defense."

"I don't shoot people."

"You've shot a few people."

"Yeah, but not on purpose. I don't even have a gun!"

Lula considered that while she slid a look at Hal and _his_ gun.

There was a noise outside. Lula and I squealed again in unison. So much for being big bad bounty hunters. I was about to wet my pants. There were voices, and the sound of a door getting kicked in, and then I heard someone shout "Trenton PD!"

Uniforms flooded the hall and I was so relieved it wasn't Loopy's killer that my knees lost feeling for a second. Robin Wright came in first, gun leading. Pointed it at Hal. "Drop the weapon!"

Hal set the gun on the ground and took a step back, raising his hands too. Robin cut her eyes to Loopy. Didn't lower her gun. Crap. "We didn't shoot her," I offered.

"If you didn't shoot her, who did?"

"I don't know. We just got here. She's FTA. We came to take her in and found her like this."

The lengthy scan of my belly wasn't flattering. "You came to take her in?"

"Mostly Hal. He works for Ranger."

"Uh huh."

Boy, this really wasn't going as planned.

Eddie Gazarra showed up in the doorway behind her and I nearly fainted with relief. I've known Eddie my whole life. He was a good friend. Married to my cousin Shirley the Whiner. Eddie's eyes searched over the scene, taking it all in. "Steph? What happened?"

"The back door was unlocked. I thought she might be passed out drunk so I sent Hal in to arrest her and he found her like this."

Eddie put a hand on Robin's elbow and she finally holstered her sidearm. She collected Hal's gun from the floor while Eddie moved closer to examine the body. "We're gonna need the ME," he told her. Robin nodded and stepped back to call it in. Eddie was shaking his head. "She hasn't been dead long. You didn't see anything? Nobody lurking around?"

"No, but we were only sitting outside for about an hour. Did you talk to the neighbors?"

"Yeah. One of them called dispatch because they saw a huge guy in all black sneaking around the house. Said they heard a shot fired."

"We didn't hear anything."

The look Eddie gave me wasn't flattering either. "You know this doesn't look good, right?"

"You don't think Hal did this."

"I don't know what to think. But I'm afraid until we get a better idea of what happened, you're all going to be considered persons of interest."

"You can't be serious."

"I'm not saying anything's going to come of it. I'm just saying you might want to be careful. Maybe talk to a lawyer. I'm sure Ranger has one on retainer for situations like this."

I watched Robin bag Hal's gun as evidence and felt the squirming discomfort deep in my stomach.

And then she cuffed him.

The second I was out of Loopy's house I called Ranger. He didn't answer. I tried the control room and was transferred to Tank, which was only slightly more helpful than letting me leave a voicemail. I like Tank. Tank's a good guy. But he's not a talker. Tank has the communication skills of a brick wall.

"I've got a problem."

"We're aware."

"You're aware? That's it?"

No response. Jeez, I take it back. Even brick walls occasionally had signs on them.

"So Ranger knows that the police just put Hal in the back of a car and took him in because they found us standing over a dead Lupita Ortiz holding a gun?"

"Affirmative."

"And Ranger is…"

"Offline."

"This isn't a very encouraging conversation."

Might have heard him smile. "Go on business as usual. We'll be in touch."

I disconnected and called Morelli. "What's this I'm hearing about you standing over a murdered Loopy Ortiz?"

"It was a misunderstanding."

"What kind of misunderstanding?"

"The bad timing kind. She was supposed to be passed out drunk."

"And what were you doing in the mix, aren't you on maternity leave?"

"I was supposed to be moral support and it got away from me."

"Cupcake. You know your life isn't normal, right?"

Oh boy did I know that. "They arrested Hal."

"I doubt Hal's been arrested. They'll take him to holding at the precinct until they run ballistics to rule out his firearm as the murder weapon."

"They're not going to arrest me too, are they?"

"Are you in cuffs now?"

"No, I'm standing on the curb by the Mercedes waiting for Lula."

"Then they're not going to arrest you. I'm assuming they swabbed you and your hands tested negative for gunshot residue, right?"

"Right. But Eddie said I shouldn't leave town."

"That's procedure. You weren't planning on leaving town anyway. Just relax. Forensics will be on your side, and until then just keep your head down. Go about your business like normal."

"That's what Tank said."

"You talked to Tank?"

"Not on purpose. I was trying to call Ranger but he was out of the office."

"Why didn't you call his cell?"

"I did. He didn't answer."

Morelli wasn't sure what to make of that, but he didn't seem to like it. Bad enough Ranger had let his pregnant girlfriend hunt bounties in the first place. Now I was in a tight spot and ready to pop, and Ranger was AWOL. "I'll make some calls. For now, just get Lula and go back to the bonds office. I'll call you when I know something."

"Okay. But hurry." I hung up and shoved my phone in my pocket.

It wasn't hard to find Lula since she'd been trying to squirm her way out of questioning for the last half hour, freaked out by past experiences when she was a street walker. Lula was still itching by the time I parked in front of the bonds office.

"The next time somebody gets the bright idea to go after a crazy person I'm keeping my ass as far away as possible. I don't like cops and I don't like dead people. And that situation put both of them in the same house at the same time. I don't know which was worse."

Connie was sitting at her desk in front of Vinnie's closed office door, painting her nails a vivid bright red to match her lipstick. She perked up when she heard us come in. "What happened?" Connie wanted to know.

"Steph's babysitter is under suspicion of murder now that Loopy's seeing out of her third eye."

Connie went brows up.

"He didn't do it," I said.

"But she's definitely dead?"

"As a doornail," Lula said.

"Or a coffin nail."

"Say what?"

"Nevermind. Morelli said they probably haven't arrested Hal. Taking him in was just procedure."

"What did Ranger say?" Connie asked me.

"I don't know. He's offline. But Tank said to go on business as usual."

"That makes sense. They've got ears all over the place. If somebody even whispers the words arrest warrant, Rangeman will hear. And if Ranger already knows what's going on, I'm sure he's on top of it. I don't suppose you were able to get anything you could take to the courthouse?"

"I didn't. Considering what happened it might be better to go the long way around this time anyway and wait for a death certificate."

"Vinnie's not gonna like that," Connie said, taking up the nail polish again. "Sounds good to me."

The front door opened and closed behind me and I saw Connie and Lula go still, only to relax again. I turned and saw one of Ranger's guys striding into the room. "I'm here to drive you home."

"I can drive myself home, I know where it is."

"Tank insisted."

I didn't have the self-discipline required to hold in a sigh. Especially when he held out his hand for my keys. When he said drive me home he really meant _drive_ me home. I thought about arguing, but I was too tired. Angled into the passenger seat of my own car and let him close me in. We were halfway down the street when he got a text and made a U-turn. "Where are you going? I thought you were taking me home."

"Change of plans," he said, barely a glance at me behind his mirrored sunglasses. "I've been told to take you to Ranger."


	69. Chapter 69

AU of Plum Crazy

* * *

Chapter Sixty-Nine

Ranger

It had been a calculated risk, letting Stephanie get herself even semi adjacent to the fucking Loopy fiasco. A risk that had apparently bit him on the ass with a vengeance. God. He was supposed to be smarter than this.

Connie had been sending him files for weeks, ever since Steph had finally agreed to maternity leave. Ranger would flag anything Lula couldn't handle, and Tank would assign one of their men. Keeping the balance so Steph would have a job to come back to when and if she wanted to do bond enforcement again. Then fucking Lupita Ortiz had failed to show for her court date, and Ranger'd been faced with an unfortunate choice.

If Lupita realized Ranger had any hand in her incarceration, or that he had so much invested in Trenton, there was a good chance things would blow up in a way he wanted very much to avoid. Lula had almost been a sacrificial lamb in that way. The pounce and squash was pretty much her only move, but it should have been enough to get Loopy to jail eventually.

Should have.

Obviously he'd never considered a bullet between Loopy's eyes as a possible factor.

He could see Steph on the satellite office monitors when Jose brought her Mercedes to the back door. She was nervous. Low on trust. Fuck. He knew he should have answered when she'd called. Even if it had been just a minute. A text in the middle of the mad rush he'd been making in an attempt to handle damage control. But this wasn't exactly something he could explain to her over a text. Not by a longshot. Even if he'd followed through on the impulse last night to tell her who Loopy was.

Brett called the elevator for Steph and sent her up to three while Jose moved her go bag to the 911. Her shoulders curved in and small when she was finally in front of him. She just stared at him for a minute. Like she was trying to crawl inside his head. That had always been both thrilling and unsettling. From the first day he met her, Stephanie Plum had been able to see something different in him than everyone else. Saw through the hardened demeanor and the street swagger. Called him out on his bullshit. And now those transparent, bright blue eyes of hers were holding him prisoner. Analyzing him without bothering to hide a single one of her own thoughts. "The police think Hal murdered Loopy."

"I know. My lawyer is with him now. He'll be able to keep Hal from being charged."

"Why didn't you answer when I called?"

"I knew you weren't in any danger and I had other fires to put out."

"What kind of fires?"

"Babe, there are more implications here than one of my men being found over a dead body."

"What is it you're not telling me?"

It took some concentration to keep the impulse smile locked up tight. This wasn't the time or the place for it. But it still amazed him that she could cut to his core so fast, bringing her sunshine with her. "A lot. Unfortunately I don't have time to tell you everything. We need to leave now if I'm going to stand a chance at getting out in front of this."

"Leave for where?"

"Newark."

"You know who killed her?"

"No, but I know who the next viable suspect is and I need to get to him first. Lupita had a boyfriend a couple months back that she still has some ties to. The Harley she was riding was registered to him. I was told she stole it when he dumped her."

"I remember Connie saying something about an ex. I think she called him Wildog."

"That's his street name. His given name is Ricardo Marco Manoso. He's my brother."

ooo

Steph

I was speechless for a full minute. Not a typical state for me. But having that dropped in my lap was not in any way what I'd been expecting. "You have a brother?"

That time he couldn't help the twitch of smile. "Babe, you know I have a brother."

"Yes, but there's knowing you have a brother and then there's _knowing_ you have a brother. You never talk about your family."

"There's not much to say."

"Your brother was dating a crazy chick that tries to set apartments on fire. That seems conversation-worthy."

"Babe."

Babe had a lot of meanings the way Ranger says it. In this case, I was pretty sure it meant 'you're cute, but clock's ticking'. "I need to sit down."

"You can sit down in the car. It's a long drive and we have to get going."

"You want me to go with you?"

"Need is more accurate. I know you'd probably rather stay put in your condition, but the way this is shaping I'm not comfortable being separated from you. Not with everything that could go wrong. And I'm going to need your help."

"Why would you need my help? He's your brother. It's not like you have to run a skip trace on him."

"Except he's not answering my calls and I can't seem to locate his whereabouts."

"Why isn't he answering your calls?"

Ranger drew in a breath and let it out in an actual honest to god sigh. "Marco and I aren't on the best of terms."

The way he said it, I was betting that was the understatement of the year, which opened up a million questions. I filed them away for later. "So you need me to help you find him? You're the terminator of bounty hunters. You're Batman. You can't tell me your skills have dulled since you stopped taking skips from Vinnie."

"That's not the reason. I need backup. You're my best option."

"I'm nine months pregnant!"

"In this case backup is a relative term. I don't need muscle. I need someone I can trust."

"You don't trust Tank?"

"I trust Tank with my life, but in this one case he would be less than helpful. Tank has even more problems with Marco than I do."

Jeez. Now I was just made of questions. "You didn't have me brought here because it was convenient, did you?"

"Not exactly."

"You're worried that if the police are willing to put Hal in handcuffs, they might get it in their heads to come knocking at Rangeman, and you might lose your lead if they want to bring you in for questioning too."

"It would certainly reduce my chances at success."

"Why didn't you tell me about Loopy?"

"It wasn't relevant at the time."

"Until she turned up dead."

"Yeah."

I bit my lip trying to hold in the question burning in the back of my throat. I think he saw it anyway. His eyes crinkled just a little at the corners through his seriousness. "Just say it, Babe."

"Do you think your brother murdered Lupita Ortiz?"

"Honestly?"

I nodded.

"I don't know. I'd like to think he's not capable of murder, but the truth is I don't know him the way I used to."

"So you need to find him and do damage control."

"That's about the shape of it."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yes. Okay, I'm in. Marco's your family, and you're mine. Family looks after family."

The smile was back, but softer this time. More than just amusement. He caught my hand and a second later I was plastered against him. The kiss burned with a gentle intensity, sending a trickle of molten lava into my belly and straight down. He pulled back enough to brush a kiss to the tip of my nose. "I can always count on you to brighten my day."

"Even now?"

"Yes. Even now."

ooo

It was about an hour's drive to Newark on a normal day. We made most of the drive in silence. Not a problem for Ranger. Ranger likes silence. Ranger gets into his zone and doesn't require outside stimuli to occupy his thoughts. Me? Not all that good with silence. By the time we reached the outskirts of town my curiosity had gotten the better of me. "What did you mean you and Marco aren't on good terms?"

Ranger shook his head so slightly I would have missed it if I wasn't looking at him. "He and I took very different paths after I went to juvie for stealing that car when I was fourteen. I was sent to live with our grandmother in Miami. Marco stayed in Newark. We were never all that close, but the distance made it more pronounced."

"Is he older or younger than you?"

"Older, by four years. Firstborn."

"So he was eighteen when you left."

Ranger nodded slightly. Just once.

"When was the last time you talked to him?"

"Right after Lupita moved to Trenton."

"So you knew all along who she was."

"Yes."

"And you didn't think to tell me."

"She might have been vindictive and batshit crazy, but she's never been particularly dangerous. I'd promised to keep an eye on her. That didn't extend to keeping her out of jail."

"So you were watching her?"

"We weren't running full surveillance, if that's what you mean. More like I was paying her neighbor the occasional twenty to stay informed of who she was seen with. It was about making sure whatever was between her and Marco didn't blow back on the rest of our family." He turned off the main road onto a frontage. "Didn't know finding her dead was a possibility."

His eyes were still on the road, but I could see it when a bit of his control slipped. Ranger wasn't one to show a lot of emotion. At least not outside of our bedroom. You might catch a wisp of smoke coming off his scalp when he was angry, or a shadow in his eyes when he was worried or annoyed. I had a suspicion that this particular look was the Ranger equivalent of bitterness. He didn't like that a woman was dead on his watch. Even if she was his brother's batshit crazy ex.

He pulled the 911 onto the edge of a narrow dirt road lined with overgrown fruit trees. I could see the rundown little shack at the end of the road, surrounded by the neglected orchard. It looked smaller than my old apartment. Peeling whitewash on wood siding. A roof in bad need of repair. A little surprising it wasn't condemned.

Ranger put the Turbo in park and reached under his seat for the lockbox. Handed me a .38 Special identical to the first gun he'd ever bought me. "Stay close until I signal. I want you to take the front door while I circle around back."

"Shouldn't you take the front door?"

"He's more likely to answer if he sees a beautiful woman."

Well. When you put it that way.

A touch a humor leaked through the shadows again. Ranger thought I was amusing.

I took the .38 and did as I was told. Normally I would have stuck the gun in the waistband of my jeans, but since my waistband was twelve inches tall and made of stretchy material, that wasn't happening. Holding it was probably the safest option, as much as I hated it. I watched Ranger vanish with big black jungle cat stealth into the overgrown orchard. Not so much as a rustle of leaves to mark his presence. It really was impressive. I wasn't capable of a quarter that level of stealth even when I wasn't hugely pregnant. Deep down, I'm pretty sure Ranger has some kind of superpowers.

I waited a minute until I heard a light whistle, and then waddled my pregnant ass up to the front door and knocked. No answer. Not even the rustle of someone throwing on clothes or trying to make a break for it. And then I reminded myself that we weren't after a skip. This was Ranger's brother. Not only did he not have any reason to try and run from me, there was a high likelihood that if he did I'd never hear him.

"Come on in, Babe. The front door's unlocked."

I tried the knob. He was right. The front door was indeed unlocked. That didn't seem like a good sign to me. "Nobody's home?"

"No. And from the looks of it, he doesn't have intention of coming back anytime soon."

I closed the front door behind me and suddenly wished I'd left it open. The dark was oppressive. There was only one window in the tiny living room, and it was covered with enough dingy curtains and plaid blankets that sunlight was only able to filter through as a halfhearted amber haze. Ranger clicked on a flashlight from his belt. The room was a mess. Hard to tell if it had been tossed or if Marco Manoso was just a slob. We searched together room by room. Didn't take very long. I had to conclude that Ranger was right. There wasn't anything there to suggest someone was planning to come back.

"You're sure he lives here?"

"It's what my latest intelligence said."

"You have to run recon on your own brother?"

Hard to really see the look Ranger gave me through the uneven darkness, but I was betting it wasn't happy. "Marco hasn't ever been the reliable stay in one place kind of guy."

"So this wasn't a permanent residence."

"No. Looks more like an old stash house. Lots of places in the walls and cupboards that look like they were meant for guns, but I didn't see any evidence it's been used recently."

My eyebrows shot up. "Jeez."

Ranger only shrugged. The idea that his brother had been sleeping in a shack designed for gunrunning wasn't a big deal to Ranger. Ranger knew a thing or two about gunrunning first hand.

He shined the light around the kitchen. Taking in the dirty dishes. "Someone was here as recently as this morning, but they didn't leave any personal belongings behind when they vacated. I was hoping this would be easier, but it's starting to look like we might need to go through more traditional channels to find him."

"What, like FBI or local PD?"

That got me another smile. I was sure of it. "No, Babe. This will be far scarier than that. We're going to have to talk to his family."


	70. Chapter 70

AU of Plum Crazy

* * *

Chapter Seventy

As I watched the grimy, graffiti covered streets of Newark slide by the windows of Ranger's pristine black Porsche 911 Turbo, I couldn't stop the crippling bubble of panic building inside me. I was somewhere between _oh crap_ and _holy shit!_ I'd always been curious about Ranger's past. Ranger was an encrypted black box who only shared on a need to know basis, and under normal circumstances I would have only been minorly nervous about meeting the people who created freaking Batman. But never in a million years would I ever have guessed that going home with him to meet the folks would include me being nine months pregnant. That had been unthinkable. A doomsday scenario. And now here we were, rolling steadily toward doomsday without so much as a ten minute warning.

Ranger cut a glance at me and a smile threatened to surface, his hand resting on my thigh. "Relax Babe."

"How can I relax? I'm about to walk into your family home for the first time qualifying for my own zip code! You're whole family will be able to take one look at me and know that we've had sex!"

"Pretty sure that particular detail isn't going to be the focal point of the conversation."

"Oh god, I'm hyperventilating."

"Babe, it's gonna be fine. It wasn't terribly painful when we told your family that you were pregnant, right? My family is a lot like yours. There just happens to be more of them."

"They're like my family? Crap!"

The smile won. "Babe."

Then a vitally important part of what he'd just said sank in and I swung a look to him. "Wait, you haven't told your family that I'm pregnant?"

Ranger hummed the Porsche to a stop in front of a modest little one story house and angled out of the car. Shit! I wasn't ready! I dragged my messenger bag into my lap and threw the flap open, praying a little mascara would help my confidence. Ranger opened my door too soon. His expression said I was the funniest thing he'd seen all year.

The screen door on the front porch snapped and I heard a woman's voice coming toward us. Apparently the women in my family weren't the only ones drawn by a mystic force. I don't speak Spanish, but I had a feeling that even if I did I wouldn't have been able to catch everything she was saying. Ranger answered her with a half smile, his Cuban Spanish faster than I'd ever heard him. Offered me a hand. The obligatory signal that staying in the car wasn't an option.

The second the woman saw me she stopped in her tracks.

She was about our age. My height. With shining, thick dark chocolate hair flowing straight over her shoulders. Bright red lips and babydoll eyes. Maybe the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. Not surprising, given that she looked like the female version of Ranger. Her eyes got round, mouth open. Then she smacked Ranger hard across the shoulder. "Oh my God. Did you tell Mama you were bringing home a girl?"

Ranger tried to answer her in Spanish, but she smacked him again, just as hard. He didn't even blink. Like they were love taps he could hardly feel.

"Don't pull that, Ranger. Rude. I can tell your girlfriend doesn't understand."

I could see the laughter in Ranger's eyes, even if his mouth barely twitched. "Steph, this is my sister Celia."

"His favorite sister Celia," she corrected. "And don't think playing nice is getting you out of trouble," she told him. "You've been saying for years you don't even date, then all of a sudden you have a girlfriend none of us get to see and now you just bring her home unannounced?"

"We were in the neighborhood."

"In the neighborhood." The tone had an implied eyeroll. She turned my way again and softened, making it clear I was in no way culpable for her brother's sins. "It's Stephanie Plum, right?"

Uh-oh. "Whatever you've heard, it's not true."

The corner of her mouth lifted like she was thinking about smiling. It was unsettlingly familiar. Jeez. I guess that was a family trait. "I have a whole kitchen full of people who are dying to meet you."

Ranger opened my door the rest of the way and offered his hand again. I had to hold in the sigh. If she knew who I was the ship had already sailed on making a good first impression. I didn't want to make it worse by being undignified. I took Ranger's hand and angled with some effort out of the lowered front seat, Ranger snatching up the messenger bag when it started to fall.

I heard Celia's sudden intake of breath when she got a full load of my belly. "Holy shit."

That was accurate.

I didn't catch everything she said next. It was a pretty flawless mix of Spanish and heavily accented English, which was funny because everything else she'd said so far had been with a Jersey accent. Pretty sure I got the gist, though. She waited until I was steady on my feet before she racked Ranger's shoulder so hard even I felt it. "You only dropped the word girlfriend three months ago!"

"And?"

"And how long has this been going on?"

Ranger raised an eyebrow and dropped a look to my belly.

Celia shook her head. "Oh my God. You are so gonna get it. I don't care how big you are now."

Celia reached out and took my hand. I thought it was a friendly gesture, but then she tugged me toward the house. Oh god! It couldn't be time already! Ranger was busy trying not to laugh when he nodded Celia off and took my hand himself, folding it warm and safe in his while he walked us toward his family home with way more confidence that I could ever muster. I let him take the lead. No sense rushing into the _Holy shit_ moment I was about to experience in surround sound. On the list of things I've always dreaded, this was somewhere near walking into a jaguar pit and meeting royalty naked.

Ranger was a big guy, so I thought maybe I could use him as a human shield, but I had a feeling I was only going to get away with hiding for so long. The second I crossed the threshold I was enveloped in an atmosphere of laughter and good food. A half dozen people occupying the kitchen. Most of them were women. All lit up when they saw Ranger come into the room, a chorus of Spanish and English welcoming the prodigal son.

Then the joy turned curious.

Cripes! They'd spotted me!

"Is that who I think it is?"

I wasn't brave enough to know who said it. I was too busy clinging to the back of Ranger's shirt. Most of the eyes cut from me to the two women standing at the stove. One was little and white haired. Plump as a dumpling. Likely the grandmother who cooks all day and only speaks Spanish. The other looked to be my mother's age. There were definite threads of silver through her black hair. Gentle laugh lines around her eyes and mouth. Dark brown eyes sharp with an intelligence I recognized all too well. It was like something out of a dream. I might have pinched myself if I wasn't already painfully aware of how real this was.

Ranger gave my hand a squeeze, encouraging me to be brave. Didn't need to see his face to guess there was humor in his eyes.

His mother set the kitchen towel on the counter and started for us. "Carlos. You bring your girlfriend home and you don't call first? I raised you better than that."

"It wasn't planned, and we're not staying long. I need to talk to Marco, but he's not answering my calls. Do you know where he's staying?"

She gave that about as much attention as he had the comments from his family. Brushed it aside with a sweeping hand gesture. "What do you mean you're not staying long? You can't bring a woman home and then leave. It's bad enough you didn't give me any warning. If I'd known I would have made something special!"

"That's not necessary."

She scolded him lightly, but it was easy to see she didn't mean it. "Ricardo Carlos Manoso. You will not tease your family by bringing home a pretty woman and then spirit her away just like that. You will introduce your girlfriend and stay for dinner like a good boy. I swear, you're going to put me in an early grave before I ever get to see another grandchild from you."

Celia made a choking sound behind me that sounded suspiciously laughlike.

Ranger was radiating a saintly level of patience, a very slight smile on his face. I was starting to see where he gets his tenacity. After a second the amusement won. "Steph, you've met Celia," he said, cutting his eyes to his sister. "By the counter are my sisters Claudia and Alicia, my cousin Carmen and her baby, her son Gabe, my Grandma Rosa. And this is my mother, Maria."

"But you can call me Mama," she said, reaching for my hands like I was a gift from heaven. I wanted to resist when she pulled me toward her but Ranger, traitor that he is, shifted from in front of me, giving everyone a full and instant view.

All the air was sucked out of the room at once.

Oh god oh god oh god. I'd had nightmares that weren't this frightening. In fact, given the way I was standing there nine months pregnant with Ranger's baby being gaped at by nearly every woman in Ranger's family, it was safe to say that I would have given almost anything to be showing up late for a final exam in nothing but a smile right about now.

There was a long beat where nobody breathed. I could practically hear Ranger holding in a laugh. "We mighta been seeing each other longer than three months."

Ranger's mother stared at my belly, then looked up at me, and I braced myself for the Catholic judgement. And then she melted the way my mother did for Ranger and she embraced me with a giant hug, whispering in Spanish what I could only guess was a prayer of thanks. "When is this happening?" she finally managed.

"My due date is in two weeks."

"And you kept her secret all this time?" she scolded Ranger. "Shame on you, denying your family such joy." She herded me toward a chair, an arm around my shoulders. "Two more weeks. You must be eager to see this finished. I have done it six times and with each I was so uncomfortable by the end I was pleading for them to come. Is this your first?"

"Uh… yeah."

She made a slight smile and gave my shoulders a squeeze. "It's okay to be nervous. Big changes can be scary, but so very worth it. Do you know yet if it is a girl or a boy?"

"No, but it wasn't for lack of trying. We had so many ultrasounds I think the tech was sick of us by the time we finally gave up. We're going to have to be surprised."

"Have you discussed names?"

"Some."

"And?"

"Mostly we know we're not going with Mildred."

That got a bigger laugh than I was expecting. Wasn't sure if it was because they thought I was funny or it was a shared opinion of the name Mildred. Ranger's mother smiled. "So tell me, how did you meet my Carlos?"

I resisted looking at Ranger. Didn't think it would help to see him laughing his ass off. "He helped me out when I first started as a BEA agent. Kind of like a mentor."

"You're a bounty hunter?"

"Usually. I'm on maternity leave."

"I imagine so. That's a very dangerous profession. You must be very brave. Had you been doing it long?"

"A few years."

"So this was a work place romance?"

Boy, workplace romance seems so vanilla for what was between me and Ranger, but I didn't really want to elaborate on that. I was already exhibit A. "We were friends for a long time first."

"How long?" she asked all innocent. Crap. I was well versed enough in mother interrogation techniques that I recognized the tactic. My mother had been employing them since my infancy. It wasn't that I didn't want to share the seemingly benign details of my and Ranger's courtship. It was just that being in love with Ranger already felt like trying to domesticate an endangered predator. The idea of putting it all into words was giving me hives.

"This smells wonderful," I said, trying to draw attention away from me. Not sure it worked, given the little smile, but she did turn toward the kitchen.

"It's nothing fancy. Not like we would have planned had we known you were coming. Are you hungry? Dinner won't be ready for another hour, but I could put something together for you."

"That would be wonderful. I'm always starving lately. But… would it be okay if I used your restroom? It was a long drive, and I sort of have a person sitting on my bladder."

"I'll show you," Celia volunteered.

"Oh you don't have to, I'm sure I can find it."

"It's no trouble, really."

Okay then. So much for my grand escape plan.

I felt every eye as I skootched off the edge of the chair and balanced myself, doing the pregnant shuffle all the way to the hall. It was like being on display at the zoo. Celia showed me to a door, then paused. Leaning against the frame. "He sprung this on you too, didn't he?"

"Little bit."

"Figured. You've been making a face since you got here like you were about to be thrown to the wolves."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. It's gotta be intimidating, meeting your boyfriend's family for the first time hugely pregnant. It was nerve-wracking enough for me when I had to do it with my first one, and I was only just showing." My eyebrows shot up, earning me a smile. "Not all of us are made to follow the straight and narrow. My family knows that better than anyone."

"Did it work out okay for you?"

The smile faded a touch. "For a while. My ex wasn't in the picture long. But I got two beautiful girls out of it and I can't imagine my world without them. I don't have any regrets." I think she saw it when the worry got the better of me again. Took my hand. "You don't need to worry. I know my brother. Maybe not as well as I used to before, but enough to see how much he's in love with you. I can also see how good you've been for him. Since he met you, some of those sharp edges he's had since he came home a grown man have been knocked away. He's even smiling again. Most of us thought it would never happen for him, as closed off as he was, but it's like he's finally come home after all these years. Like maybe there's still some of the Carlos I grew up with in there somewhere. I have no doubt that's because of you."


	71. Chapter 71

AU of Plum Crazy

* * *

Chapter Seventy-One

Ranger

He knew by the charged silence that his family was waiting for Steph to be out of earshot before they pounced. Ready to move from indictments to grand jury. It was Alicia who broke the silence. "I'll say it if no one else is going to. What. The hell?"

" _Language_ ," their mother said in Spanish.

"You're scolding me? He's the one who spent the last nine months conveniently forgetting to mention he's having another baby."

"At least he brought this one home," Claudia said. "Last time he up and got married without inviting any of us and then turned around a got divorced a year later. Most of us have only met our oldest niece over video chat."

"Are you going to invite us when you get married this time?" Alicia asked. "Or did you already do that and you just aren't wearing rings."

Ranger had to center himself to keep the amusement from showing. His family should have learned better over the years that pushing him was never going to get them anywhere. Never seemed to keep them from trying though. "We didn't," he told them.

"Are you going to?"

Like he was going to discuss that with his sisters before Stephanie. "I could have called instead," he reminded them.

"Please. _You wouldn't do that to your poor mother,_ " Mama said. " _We only see you every two months as it is, to be in town and not come by would have been a heartbreak. Already you wait until you almost have a child to tell your family._ "

"Mom _._ "

She put her hands up in false resignation. " _I only say what I see. Why you would want to keep such a wonderful companion from us only the Lord knows, but if you think it should be so who am I to argue? Just because she's beautiful and charming and brave…_ "

Ranger felt a smile pulling at one corner of his mouth. No surprise that they'd fall in instant love with her. She was very lovable, not to mention the only hint there was a chance he might someday settle down. But he hadn't wanted to add that pressure for Stephanie. Or get his family's hopes up. Nothing about him and Steph was set in stone. " _I'd appreciate it if the meddling was kept to a minimum._ "

Grandma Rosa scoffed at that. Ranger turned a gaze on her that was somewhere between stern indulgence and bridled affection. The raised eyebrow all the encouragement the old woman needed. " _Sometimes a woman needs to meddle. How else will a man recognize his mistakes?_ "

" _A smart man knows his mistakes_."

" _And a stubborn man keeps to his path anyway, regardless of what he knows._ "

"Isn't this the same Stephanie Celia's friend told us about a few years ago?" Claudia wanted to know.

"Yep. And not just that," Celia said, coming out of the hall and into the kitchen again. "She's the same Stephanie that helped find Julie when that nutcase took her. Risked her own life to rescue her. Not to mention all the other stuff she's been at the center of the last few years. Both her and Captain Action Hero here."

"Leave it alone," he warned, but his mother brushed that off too. Turned the fullness of those warm, deep brown eyes on him. She reached for him to caress his cheek in that tender way only a mother could.

" _Baby, like I don't know that trouble follows you. I'm not foolish enough to think you don't have demons. Some of them very real and very dangerous. I pray for you every day that God will lay before you the path you need to find peace. Or at least happiness, if peace is too much to ask._ " And then she drew the caressing hand back an inch and smacked his face. " _God gave you a baby with a woman you adore. Wait any longer and the next sign might hit you over the head._ "

There was a clamor of agreement from the peanut gallery, along with a few snorts of laughter. Well, at least they were amusing themselves. If he was lucky they'd get it out of their system before Steph got back.

The front door opened and shut again. Noises of rowdy children in the entry. Eva. Ranger cut a glance at Celia. She tossed up her hands. "What? Like she was supposed to miss out on meeting your babymama just because you dropped by unexpected? I would have texted Claudia too if she hadn't come with me to hang out with Carmen."

Their oldest nephews broke rank first to come running. At eleven and nine, Hunter and Marcus would have recognized the Porsche out front. Boys that age always were easy to impress. Add to that the cold badass demeanor and the fact he tangled with bad guys for a living and they were ready to imbue on him all the hero worship that kids usually reserve for Marvel characters.

Hunter barreled toward him and skidded to a halt just short of his strike zone, Marcus only a second behind. Scanning him with bright eyes. "I told you Uncle Ranger was here," Hunter said to his brother.

"Do you think he has his gun on him?"

"Of course he has his gun on him. You always have your gun, don't you Uncle?"

Grandma Rosa crossed herself and said a silent prayer. Ranger held in his smile.

Eva came in through the doorway doublewide, a diaper bag slung over one shoulder, the bucket baby carrier balancing her on the other side. Her two little girls brought up the rear. Of all his sisters, Eva was the one with the most offspring. Five to Celia's two and Claudia's three. The girls gave Ranger a shy smile and ran off to the backyard to play with the rest of their cousins. Eva set the baby on the kitchen table and then turned on him. "Now, what's this about a girlfriend?"

Several mouths opened to answer on his behalf, but then the bathroom door opened, announcing Stephanie's return from her hiding place. Every eye in the room swung from him to the hallway.

He could see how aware of the pressure Stephanie was when she came out, shoulders rolled in just enough to show her discomfort. She was trying to be brave. Her messy chocolate curls had been pulled back again into a fresh ponytail. Her vivid, bright blue eyes more defined after an application of mascara. The tight black t-shirt showed every curve of her beautiful body, a path he knew by heart no matter how much it had changed. Eva had the same reaction everyone else had had, but Ranger didn't pay any attention. He was too busy watching the mother of his child.

Steph's bright eyes held his. Relaxing a fraction despite herself. Ranger felt it when his family turned to watch the growing smile he couldn't hide. And finally, he didn't have to try.

ooo

Steph

I didn't want to count the number of eyes on me, but that was a little like trying not to count the laser beams burning holes in your skin. Jeez. I was gone all of ten minutes and they multiplied. Like Manoso coat hangers. Thank god Ranger was still smiling. He was the only reason I hadn't crawled out the bathroom window.

Well. Mostly.

My phone chirped, giving me a mini seizure. I debated answering it in the magnifying glass focus of every woman in Ranger's family, but the sound didn't stop. Pretty sure my apologetic smile was more grimace as I dug the phone out of my bag. Morelli.

"Sorry, I have to take this. I'll just be a minute." I ducked back into the hall and answered. "What?"

"You alright, Cupcake? You're sounding a little stressed."

"I'm fine."

"You sure? Because you don't sound fine. You sound like you're getting a family related eye twitch."

Dammit. I pressed my finger into the corner of my eye and took a deep breath. "It's been one of those days."

"I hear you. I spent the last few hours trying to get a beat on what's going on with the Loopy investigation. Moran pulled the case and he's not exactly a fountain of information. Should I gather from the eye twitch that you're at your mother's house?"

"Better. I'm at Ranger's mother's house."

"Ranger has a mother?"

"Yes. And a grandmother, and four sisters, and some cousins…"

"And how's that going?"

"I'm not sure. I was hiding in the bathroom. They took my being pregnant pretty well, though."

"Wait, you only just met them? I took you to my mother's house for dinner the day after we slept together. The two of you have been knocked up almost a year. How could he not tell his family you were pregnant?"

"I don't want to talk about it. What did you find out? Did they release Hal?"

"Not yet, but he's lawyered up with some pretty big guns, so I don't think they'll be able to keep him much longer. They're just waiting on ballistics to clear his weapon. The time of death window was four hours and you were sitting out front for almost two of them. They canvassed the neighbors. No reports of anyone suspicious on the street in the last few days aside from Hal, you and Lula. Only new car was your Mercedes."

"So no leads."

"Not yet. They're still waiting on the autopsy report. You did some research on Loopy before you sent Hal in. You come across anything helpful? Maybe an associate we could point to? Because right now you're being looked at as an accessory."

Cripes. "I gave them everything I had on her when they questioned me."

"You know, I'm having trouble wrapping my head around Ranger having a family. I guess I always assumed they grew him in a lab at the CIA."

"Ha ha."

Pretty sure that got me a grin. I hung up, tucked the phone into my bag and stepped back into the kitchen. Surprised to find not just Ranger's sisters, mother and grandmother, but a few husbands too, including a middle aged man that was likely Ranger's father, and what I could only guess was another cousin.

Crap. Note to self. Manosos replicate when left unattended.

It took combining both the kitchen and the dining room tables to fit all the adults. The gaggle of children floating between the coffee tables and the picnic table in the backyard. Ranger and I had been wedged into the middle, our chairs so close I was practically in his lap. Considering the impromptu nature of the big family meal, there was an impressive amount of food. All of it fragrant and delicious.

The chaos at the table had a sort of sense to it. Like a well rehearsed dance. Lots of happy chatter and teasing laughter. Mama Manoso smiled sweetly at me as she passed the black beans. "Do you come from a big family, Stephanie?"

"Not really. I only have one sister. But she's due any day now with her fifth daughter."

"Both you and your sister expecting babies? How lovely! Your mother must be excited."

"You have no idea. I think she'd all but given up hope on seeing a grandchild from me. She's not all that thrilled that I'm a bounty hunter."

Ranger's father Ricardo looked up from his chicken at the end of the table and said something in Spanish. His wife's expression took on that saintly patience again. "Yes, darling. Stephanie and our Carlos work together. It's how they met."

Ricardo tracked his eyes from his wife to me and back again. Taking in the unspoken reproof. Everyone at the table, aside from Grandma Rosa, had been using English to make me feel included. Apparently no one had clued in Papa. He cleared his throat and turned back to his chicken. "His big friend from the army. His girlfriend from the bounty hunting. I think our Ranger works too hard."

Several of his sisters nodded in agreement, sliding glances at me that said they didn't really mind all that much. Alicia directed to me. "Tell us about the time you burned down that funeral home in Trenton."

"That was an accident. And it wasn't my fault. There were extenuating circumstances."

"Didn't you catch a serial killer a while back?" Claudia wanted to know.

"Which one?"

There was some laughter around the table. I think they thought I was joking.

After dinner, Mama Manoso produced a moist sweet cake while her mother and daughters passed around little cups of coffee. The coffee was almost battery acid strong. I wasn't at all surprised that Ranger drank it black while I enjoyed a piece of cake enough for both of us. Ranger didn't pollute his body with empty calories like sugar.

Sometimes I envied his will power. The rest of the time I was pretty happy with the way my unhealthy choices tasted.

I offered to help clean up, but Ranger's mother wouldn't hear of it. She shooed me into the living room with Ranger. Not all that surprising, since I was the size of a house, but Ranger was amused anyway. "Got a text from my lawyer while you were in dessert paradise. Ballistics cleared Hal. They had to let him go."

"That's a relief. Is he still a suspect."

"I don't think they'll take him off the board right away, but they won't be looking at him as the shooter." Ranger folded me up in his arms and kissed me. "You did great, Babe."

"Really? Because most of the time I felt like I was on trial for something and nobody had told me the charges."

"It wasn't that bad. Trust me. When you're on trial in this family, you know it."

"It's still so weird to me that everyone calls you Ranger. Even your dad."

He shrugged. "You have to understand, I was gone a long time. I only lived here through two years of college before I dropped out to join the Army. Spent half my leave in Miami. Most of the people from this neighborhood know me as Carlos, but the ones who are close to me picked up the name Ranger with Celia. Everyone except my mother. She still sees me as her sweet little trouble making baby boy."

Eva's baby started crying in her bucket seat on the couch. Ranger withdrew his arms from around me and leaned over her. Unbuckling her so that he could scoop her up. She was so little. Only a few months old. Still in that soft and squishy stage that most people don't know what to do with. "She's wet and hungry. She'll need a change before we take her to Eva."

"What, do you speak baby too?"

He thought about smiling. "It's not hard, Babe. Babies make sounds based on their needs, just like anybody else." He got a fresh diaper out of Eva's bag. Cutting a look to me. "You want to do it? Could be good practice."

"Is the baby whisperer trying to get out of changing a diaper?"

"We'll be changing plenty of diapers very soon. Just thought you might like to remind yourself that you actually do know how to do this."

He held out the baby and I held in a sigh. Ignoring the nervous feeling as I accepted the squishy infant. I laid her down on the sofa and unsnapped her one piece. Fumbled only a little when I took the wet one and replaced it with the dry. Ranger bagged the diaper while I snapped her clothes up again and scooped her up. I offered her to Ranger, but he nodded toward the kitchen instead. "Take her to Eva."

I cradled the baby to my shoulder and some of my nerves eased as I watched Ranger take the diaper away to toss it. This wasn't so hard. She fit neatly in the crook of my neck. Warm and cuddly, and smelling insanely appealing. Full head of soft black hair irresistible against my cheek.

Don't get me wrong, I was still terrified. But for the first time since I found out I was pregnant, there was a part of me that couldn't wait to snuggle one of my very own.

ooo

Ranger

Steph was in the kitchen when he came back, still cuddling the baby while Eva dried her hands. Looked like she was enjoying herself. Good. Ranger had no doubt she was going to be an amazing mother. Hadn't ever been one to let fear or inexperience get in her way. But he was glad she could feel it too, at least for a little while.

Eva accepted the baby and moved to the couch, leaving Steph emptyhanded. Ranger took his place at her back and wrapped around her. Her spine relaxing into his chest. That got them some sappy looks. His sisters had already been eyeing Steph like she was a mystical unicorn. Now they were damn near glowing. He kissed Steph's temple and a few of them awed. Better get to business before they melted down completely. "When was the last time anyone spoke with Marco?"

Celia looked up from the dishes. Of course. Celia had always been the bridge between him and his brother. The middle child buffer born directly between them. Got stuck playing mediator most of the time when the rivalry got heated. Not that she minded the awkward position. She'd always been a strong woman. "I talked to him yesterday," she volunteered.

"What did he say?"

"Not much. He wanted some contact information."

"For?"

Her eyes turned sharp. Analyzing his blank expression. "Why do you need to talk to Marco? You and him haven't said two words to each other in months. And I know he's not FTA. He'd have asked me to bail him out."

"This isn't about that. I just need to ask him about an acquaintance of his."

"It's not that skanky biker chick is it? Because he told me he dumped her."

"That's what I need to find out. She's the one who went FTA. Steph and I need to figure out who else she might have been associating with."

"Yeah, Marco should be able to help you there. He was running with the same people. Not a good crowd, if you know what I'm saying." She dried her hands and pulled out her phone. Hit a few buttons. Pressed the phone to her ear. Only a couple rings before it was sent to voicemail. A second attempt didn't yield any better results. "Huh. Apparently he's not answering my calls either." She thumbed through her contacts. "Yesterday he'd asked me to text him our cousin Manuel's cell phone number."

"He say why he wanted it?"

"Nope. And I didn't think enough of it to ask. I'm wondering now if I should have."

"Manuel lives with Aunt Alma in Miami last I heard. You know if he's visiting Jersey soon?"

"No clue."

Ranger brought out his own phone and called Manuel. Had a very brief conversation. One that didn't make him very happy. He disconnected. Shit. "Manuel said he picked Marco up at the airport a few hours ago."

"I'm guessing that's not good," Steph said.

She'd guess right. Not good was putting it mildly. He called Tank. "Marco flew commercial to Miami this afternoon."

"Well, he didn't do it using any of his known aliases. We'd have found out a lot sooner. You think he's running?"

"Too early to say."

"You want me to book you a flight?"

"Yes."

"What about Stephanie?"

That was harder to answer. No way he wanted to go after Marco without Steph there to keep him in check, but flying at thirty-eight weeks wasn't the best idea. Her pregnancy was low risk, and the doctor had said only a day ago that she wasn't showing any signs labor was imminent. That didn't mean she couldn't go zero to sixty during the three and a half hours it takes to get to Miami and give birth mid-air. "Arrange for a charter and I'll make some calls."

"You got it."

Ranger disconnected and turned to Steph. "Guess I'll be paying Manny a visit tomorrow."

"In Florida?" He nodded. "What should I do?"

"That's the question. Tank is booking us a private plane, so we have until it leaves to decide. And we can call your doctor tonight and get an official okay. There are some commercial airlines that'll let pregnant women fly up to thirty-eight weeks, but I'd trust your intuition above some arbitrary rules. How do you feel about it? Do you want to stay with me, or should I have Tank come and get you?"

She bit her lip. Not loving either option. "When would we leave?"

"Tomorrow morning out of Liberty."

"And how long do you think we'll be gone?"

"Could be two days. Could be more."

"Then I'll stay with you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. As long as Dr. Weston says it's okay. I'd rather have the baby in Miami than risk doing this without you. You're my battle buddy."

Ranger let out a soft laugh and kissed her temple.

His mother brightened. "If you're leaving from Liberty, then you can stay here tonight."

"Mom, it's only an hour drive between here and Trenton."

"An hour late at night for a trip that serves no purpose when you would just turn around and come back the next morning. Or you could make your Mama happy."

Steph cut her eyes to him. Unsure. "I could book us at a hotel," he offered.

"Nonsense," Mama said. "I wouldn't hear of it. Not when I have two empty beds and a son I see so little. I'll go and prepare the guest room for your lovely Stephanie and you can stay in your room."

Cute. She intended to make them sleep separately, like any good Catholic mother. Just because of some missing rings. Apparently Steph being nine months pregnant was irrelevant. "Stephanie will be sleeping with me."

"Oh Carlos, I can't allow—"

"Mom. I love you very much. But I'm sharing a bed with the mother of my child. We can either do that here, or at a hotel."

The look said she didn't like it, but truth be told that was just a front. Propriety had to at least be attempted to be satisfied. "If that's what it takes for you to stay."

"It's down to you, Babe."

Steph chewed her lip a moment, weighing her options. Intimidated by the idea of imposing on his parents despite the fact she actually liked his family.

"I make a wonderful breakfast," his mother enticed.

He almost lost his composure completely. Less than two hours and she'd already figured out what made Steph tick. He saw it when that tipped her over the line.

"I suppose staying could be easier."

God, she was cute. Ranger couldn't hold in the chuckle as he kissed her head. "I can always count on you to brighten my day."


	72. Chapter 72

AU of Plum Crazy

* * *

Chapter Seventy-Two

Steph

Staying the night at Ranger's parents' house had been a somewhat hasty decision, but as the night wore on it was one I was pretty happy with. I wouldn't have wanted to drive all the way back to Trenton this late, even if it would have given me opportunity to get better clothes than was available in the overnight bags Ranger kept in the Turbo. And getting to know his family was surprisingly comfortable. His mother had retrieved some boxes from the basement of things he'd cleared away from his room during college. Photos and mementos of a life Ranger lived long before he ever became Ranger. I'd always had trouble believing Ranger wasn't born thirty years old. Now I was seeing the evidence with my own eyes. It was a kind of intimacy I'd never experienced with him. The feeling I knew him, inside and out. Past. Present. Maybe even future.

I was on pins and needles when Ranger walked me to a plain, unassuming door in the middle of the hall and left me alone while he went to get my bag from the car. I hesitated. This was his childhood bedroom. An accumulation of everything he was until he was fourteen, lovingly maintained by a mother who was clearly as sentimental as mine. His room would be a shrine to Carlos Manoso, the boy who was sent away because of his troubles and returned a different man.

I inched the door open.

It was smaller than I expected. Could have fit in our walk-in closet. There was a full size spring mattress sitting in a battered wood bed frame, dressed in dark navy sheets and a masculine blue and white striped comforter. I thought there would be posters on the café latte walls. Sports mementos, or gun racks, or hooks where he used to hang an electric guitar. Mostly it was disappointingly normal. There was a short bookshelf that held some textbooks. A desk.

I found some framed photos on a shelf over the dresser. Pictures of a beautiful, skinny boy with mocha skin and straight dark brown hair, surrounded by his sisters.

It was hard to reconcile the beautiful boy with the man I knew. Ranger was possessed of an animal intelligence and raw sexuality. Base instinct wrapped in perfect control. The boy in the photos had no control. Sometimes he was glowing bright with laughter and joy. Sometimes he looked like he had anger issues. But not one of the photos showed a face I recognized. He looked like Ranger. He even had Ranger's 200 watt smile. But that was about it.

The door opened at my back and Ranger slipped in, closing it behind him. He set the bag on the bed and entered my airspace. Brushing a light kiss across the nape of my neck. "Find anything interesting?"

"How old were you in these?"

Ranger considered them and then went back to nuzzling. "They vary. Some young as seven or eight. Couple at ten or twelve. Would have been thirteen in the one with the dress. That was Celia's Quinceanera. One of the last major events before I left for Miami."

"How long after this did you get into trouble?"

"Babe, I was always trouble."

"You know what I mean."

I felt it when he smiled. "I started running with the gang when I was nine. But I wasn't jumped in til thirteen."

"Isn't that kind of young?"

"No. Not a lot of bangers last into adulthood. Some leave. Some die. A lot age out and realize it's not a sustainable lifestyle. Mostly street gangs are tribes of kids throwing shade and killing each other over respect and made up boundaries."

"You left."

"I did. But just because you take the kid out of the gang doesn't mean you take the gang out of the kid." He laid a deeper kiss on my neck and the sensation tingled all the way to my toes. "You know you don't have to go with me if you're not up for it, right?"

"Dr. Weston said I could fly just fine."

"That's not what I mean. I need you to know you don't have to be on board just for me."

"Of course I'm on board. Why wouldn't I be?"

His hand moved down to my hip, roaming my body. "You signed on for a day trip to Newark. Not the whole Manoso family experience and a flight to Miami."

"I signed on to be your backup. That's what I intend to do. No matter where it goes."

"You sure about that?"

"Pretty sure." The corner of his mouth twitched again, his hand slipping under my shirt's hem and onto bare skin. All my best parts were paying very strict attention. "Can I ask you something?"

"Will there be nudity involved?"

"The way your family talked it seemed like I was the only person you've brought home in fifteen years, aside from Tank. Julie's almost thirteen. Does that mean you never brought Rachel home to meet your family?"

The smirk faded a little. You'd have thought the hand would have stopped too, but it didn't. The tips of his fingers traced my skin just under the hem of the shirt while he weighed his answer. "Rachel and I didn't have that kind of relationship. She was a sweet girl that went to my high school, but we didn't exactly travel in the same circles. What we had was supposed to be a one night stand. The good girl and the bad boy and a bottle of tequila."

"But she got pregnant."

"Yeah."

"So she never met your family?"

"My mother and grandmother flew down in my place when the baby was born. Some of my sisters have spoken with Julie over the phone. But Rachel didn't volunteer for the whole fly to Jersey thing, and I didn't see any point in pushing it. So I let it be."

"Do you ever regret it?"

"Not even a little. You've seen how they are. Bringing home a wife I didn't intend to keep would have just made a lot of people very unhappy."

Hard to argue with that. Especially when his hand slipped higher under the shirt, caressing my breast very deliberately. God. I was about three inches from ripping his clothes off. The smirk came back like he'd read my mind. Oh boy. "We can't."

"Nothing's stopping us."

"It's your childhood bedroom!"

"Babe. It wouldn't be the first time I've had a girl in my room."

"Wait. Are you saying you lost your virginity in here?"

"Parts of it. The main event didn't happen until I was fifteen, but there was a lot of preliminary work done in this very room." He turned me in his arms and his lips brushed mine. A gentle appetizer to inspire hunger. Worked very well. "I always wanted to go all the way with a beautiful woman right here in this bed." He tipped his head to the side so he could nuzzle my neck again and my knees went soft.

"Your parents are right down the hall, and you're thinking about sex?"

"Babe when I'm with you I'm always thinking about sex."

My bra came loose and his hands were on me, kneading my bare flesh. "Mmm, that feels good."

"And?" he said, tempting me with a brain smoking kiss.

"And they can't be asleep yet."

"They went to bed over an hour ago. Trust me, they're asleep."

"What if they wake up and hear us?"

"I can be quiet if you can."

He rolled the stretchy panel and then his hands were in my pants, cupping my bottom. He searched deeper. Tracing my inner thigh from behind until he found my sensitive areas and most of my sense flew right out the window.

Most.

He smiled. "I locked the door."

"What about the walls?"

The back of my legs touched the bed, and then I was seated on it. His mouth exploring under my shirt as he revealed each inch. He caught a nipple in his teeth and I turned into a puddle, his attention following me all the way to the mattress. He moved to my other breast, teasing me with teeth and lips and tongue until I was thinking I could be quiet as long as he didn't stop.

I wasn't sure where my pants went. All I know is he'd started caressing me in a place I liked. Then he disappeared behind the swell that obscured my horizon and my eyes crossed.

Omigod.

I snatched his pillow and stuffed it over my face. Felt him laugh. But that didn't stop all the clever things he could do with his tongue. He coaxed me over onto my knees and kept going. Pulling at my hips so he could reach deeper. I was right on the edge when he replaced his tongue with something bigger, easing in with every delicious inch. He moved slow so the mattress wouldn't squeak. Long, torturous strokes. I had to bite the pillow when he found the right spot. Riding the wave as he leaned deep into the pleasure. He caught me when my whole body shook and lost coordination. Pulling me up against his chest, hands still tracing my body. "I love you," he whispered velvet into my ear.

I relaxed into his chest, every inch of me glowing. Inside and out. "I love you too."

ooo

Ranger

He was awake before the morning light got serious, but he hadn't moved an inch. Not on a spring mattress that tiny. At home, they had a king sized memory foam bed. Perfect size, whether Steph wanted to sleep on top of him for warmth or nest build during a hot flash. A full sized spring mattress was little better than sharing a couch. She'd managed to wedge herself against the wall, hanging her limbs over him to accommodate the belly. There had been a few brief moments in the night, like all the times she had to get up to pee, when he wondered if they'd have been more comfortable in separate beds. But then he'd have visions of her going into labor without him, and he'd scratch that off his _should have_ list.

She pulled in a deep, telling breath. First sign she was awake. Then the full body stretch that threatened to shoved him off his sliver of bed. He failed to keep the laugh to himself. She peeped a sleepy eye at him and he caressed her breast through her shirt, relishing the way her breathing turned attentive. "How's the physical forecast? Are you up for an adventure?" he asked her.

"You know me, I love adventure. I just wish it came with a few more hours of sleep."

"You can sleep on the plane."

She shook her head. "Never works."

"Maybe that's because you fly commercial. Private is different."

She made his favorite dirty smile. "How different?"

Ranger grinned and kissed her, letting the touching get serious until there was a knock on the door. "Carlos? Stephanie? Breakfast is ready."

Stephanie seized up like they'd been caught committing a crime. Damn. Leave it to his mother to ruin a mood. "We could continue this in the shower."

"And have your mother know that we're naked together? I don't think so."

He traced her belly. "I think she's already figured out that we get naked together, Babe."

"Still a nope."

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

Steph sent him into the shower first, and then followed up after him. By the time she was out and dressed, breakfast was on the table. She was genuinely shocked when she saw him setting out plates. Like it never occurred to her he was willing to perform menial household labors.

And then she spied the food.

At the Plum house, breakfast consisted of pancakes and donuts. The Manoso house was different. An ordinary day saw coffee and bacon and fresh baked bread grilled flat and buttered, accompanied by a bowl of seasonal fruit salad. With Steph to love, his mother and grandma Rosa had added a hash made of pork and plantains, and egg stuffed bell peppers, and a savory oatmeal made with chicken stock and onions and black beans. It was a feast so thoroughly Cuban she almost needed a passport, and the basic culinary equivalent of _welcome to the family_.

His mom talked them into leftovers for the flight before they were able to get away. She'd also made him promise to bring Steph back sooner rather than later, and made it clear he was still in hot water for keeping her from them so long. It was cute that his mother thought that would influence how things played out, but it still put a quirk to Stephanie's contented smile. She liked that even big badass alpha Ranger could get in trouble with his family.

ooo

Steph

Chartering a flight ended up being way less hassle than I was thinking. Didn't have to go through the security line, or check any bags. Ranger didn't have to leave his gun in the car. They even offered to drive us across the tarmac in one of those little cart thingys so I wouldn't have to walk. If this was what it was like to fly with Ranger, I should have done it sooner.

My phone started ringing while they were doing preflight checks.

Morelli.

Okay, here's the thing. I trust Morelli. He's always looked out for me, and he was one of the people who loved me most. But I had sort of promised I wouldn't leave town while I was a person of interest. Driving to Newark hadn't felt much like breaking that promise. Going to Miami sure as hell did. I bit my lip and Ranger cut a glance at me. Reading me like he would a flashing billboard. "You don't have to answer it."

"What if it's important?"

"Babe. The possible costs could far outweigh the possible benefits here."

I answered before I could chicken out. "Did you find out anything new?"

"You could say that," Morelli said in the flattest tone I'd heard in a long time. Cripes. Should have gone with not answering. "Is it safe to assume, since you're with Ranger in Ranger's home town, meeting his family for the first time at a precariously inconvenient stage in your pregnancy, that you know Loopy Ortiz had an ex boyfriend and that said ex boyfriend bears the last name Manoso?"

Oh boy. "Pretty safe, yeah."

"Jesus, Stephanie. You didn't think that was something I should know? I've spent the last 24 hours trying to figure out who the next best suspect was so I could keep you off the hook and you're running around up there in Newark with Ranger possibly harboring a fugitive."

"Technically he's not a fugitive until he's been charged, and we can't harbor someone we haven't found yet."

"Well that makes all the difference. So you only have _plans_ to be an accessory after the fact."

"I'm sensing some hostility."

"No shit. Ranger's already up to his eyeballs in this. The Harley Loopy's been driving around was registered to his brother, but Ranger was the one who bought it in the first place. And the way I hear it, he's been paying one of Loopy's neighbors to spy on her for the last three months."

"That's not as bad as it sounds."

"Steph. I get that Ranger wants to help his brother. But between all this and the fact the people found standing over Loopy's dead body were his employee and the pregnant girlfriend she'd publicly threatened, there's starting to be talk about bringing Ranger in for questioning."

"I don't think they're going to be very successful at that."

"Why, because he's got a layer of lawyers and paramilitary operators surrounding him?"

"Because we're sort of on a plane to Miami."

I was pretty sure the silence that followed consisted of him staring at the toes of his shoes.

It was a long silence.

"You wanna explain why?" he said with deliberate calm.

"Ranger got a tip that his brother flew to Miami yesterday. We're going after him."

"And by we you mean you're going in spirit, right? Because I shouldn't have to remind you that you're a walking countdown clock."

"I've got a doctor's note."

"Jesus Christ. Stephanie, there are more consequences to you flying to Miami than the chance Junior's birth certificate will list 'place of birth' as 'Sky'. If Ranger's brother murdered Lupita Ortiz and Ranger helps him evade the authorities, that makes him an accessory. If you're with him when he does it, you are too. And if that happens I don't have the resources or the authority to keep you out of jail."

"Ranger wouldn't do that."

"You're sure about that?"

Pretty sure. Ranger had always been the ultimate crime fighter. He was like a superhero. Running through sewers and tossing bad guys, all in the name of upholding the law. But the truth was, Ranger lived most of his life in a moral gray area just beyond strictly legal. He had a strong moral code. And he never did anything that he considered to be morally wrong. That didn't mean his code was in perfect alignment with the law, or the Ten Commandments. "I trust him."

"Shit. I keep thinking if I'd just married you way back when you wouldn't be in this mess."

"We both know that's not true."

"Yeah, you're right. You'd've taken that stubborn streak of yours and done whatever the hell you wanted while I screamed at you in Italian from afar."

"That's very self-aware of you."

"Can you at least keep me in the loop when you find him? I'd rather my godchild not be born in a holding cell."

"I'll do my best."

Pretty sure I heard a frustrated _I didn't see this_ head shake before he disconnected.

"We all good?" Ranger asked me.

"Yep. We're good. Morelli just had some concerns."

"Such as?"

"He's worried what'll happen if we're accused of aiding and abetting."

"Hopefully it won't come to that."

"Only hopefully?"

Ranger thought about smiling. "We'll be in the air soon. Why don't you lay down and catch some sleep."

I looked up and down the private plane, taking in the easy-boy style reclining seats and cozy ambiance. If I was ever going to sleep on a plane, it would be this one.

I got comfortable and snacked on our leftovers until we were in the air, and by the time we were at cruising altitude I was determined to never fly commercial again. The seat was squishy and reclined all the way back footrest and all, and I didn't have the share space with grumpy strangers. I was almost sad when I actually fell asleep. Woke up on the Miami tarmac.

When we'd left Newark, it had been a chilly forty degrees. The moment the plane doors opened though, a sweltering wind poured in, clinging somewhere around eighty. I was in a long sleeved t-shirt and jeans. I was not prepared for swimsuit weather. I tried not to swear and shed my jacket, pulling my hair into a ponytail so it would at least be off my neck, and then followed Ranger out into the Miami heat.

The Escalade that picked us up had dark privacy windows in the back. I didn't realize I'd fallen asleep again until I woke up in Ranger's arms. Scooped from the back seat with an aura of amusement. He carried me from the dim parking garage to an elevator and hit a button on his key fob.

It was a very bizarre déjà vu when the elevators opened on the top floor. Like coming home drunk. The hallway was just like the one leading to our apartment in Trenton. The door was identical too. Ranger fobbed us through and carried me over the threshold. Closed it behind us before he set me on my feet.

The painting was different. And the flowers. Tropical orchids and gardenias instead of roses. But the sideboard and silver tray where Ranger set his keys was in the same place. The living room and powder room, and the hallway to the giant gourmet kitchen. Dining room, den. Even the bedroom was set up the same. The subtle earth tones accented with hints of blues and greens that reminded me of the ocean.

"It's nearly identical to home."

Ranger set my bag on the foot of the bed. His mouth twitched. "I used the same plan when I renovated the building."

"I'm not going to lie. It's a little trippy."

That time Ranger smiled. Checked his watch. "Do you need to finish resting?"

"Shouldn't we start looking for Marco?"

"I'm trying to avoid wearing you out."

"I'm okay."

He nodded, just once. "Manny said he picked up Marco at two yesterday and dropped him off in South Beach on his way to work. Marco didn't ask him for a place to stay."

"So where is he?"

"Don't know. I've got a lot of family in Miami. My dad's side settled here after leaving Cuba. Most of them put down roots. Marco could be crashing with any of our cousins. I figured I'd make some calls while you freshened up and changed clothes. Maybe start with my Grandma Lucia."

"She's the one you lived with through high school?"

"Yes. It's a long shot, since I don't see Marco hanging out at our granny's house if he's laying low, but it's possible she's heard something."

"Wait. You said change clothes."

"Babe, you're not going to be comfortable in long sleeves and jeans in Miami."

"But that's all I've got. I don't have any clothes here."

"I called Ella last night and had her select a few things. My Miami housekeeper Delma would have hung them in the closet when they arrived."

"Really?" Ranger watched me with laughter in his eyes when I waddled toward the closet. Found three familiar walls of solid black. Uniform shirts and cargo pants and black business suits. Some of them very fancy. And then I found the little section on one side that had women's clothes. Everything from cute blouses and maternity shorts to a very daring shiny gold dress that looked like the kind of thing I'd wear on a distraction job. I pulled that one from the closet and showed it to Ranger. "Did you think I'd have cause to play cunning sex pot nine months pregnant?"

"That's for eveningwear. Gotta blend in."

"Ha! This is _not_ blending in."

"You'd be surprised. For now just pick something nice. A short little sundress will work. Then we'll head down to the garage and take the 911 for a spin."

"Let me guess. You've got a personal fleet here too."

"Comes with the building."

"Cute. Are you sure it's a good idea to take your signature car out when we're tracing someone who knows you so well? I mean, don't get me wrong. I love the Porsche Turbo. But it does have a tendency to stand out."

He was laughing at me again. I was sure of it. "Babe. You've clearly never been to Miami."


	73. Chapter 73

AU of Plum Crazy

* * *

Chapter Seventy-Three

Ranger

No one had heard from Marco but Manuel. Not surprising. Marco wasn't stupid. He'd made a game of this over the years, using his vice dens and his constantly changing inner circle to hide from his brother after every bender. What he should have taken into account this time was that Miami was Ranger's home turf. The place he'd lived his wild teen years. No way in Hell Marco knew this city better than he did.

He hadn't taken his eyes off Steph while he'd made the calls, watching her cycle through her new clothes in nothing but her bra and panties. It was cute the way she carried the baby. Low enough that she still had a waist from the front and back. Forward enough that when she turned to the side the roundness could be a face-smack to an unsuspecting observer. It was like the belly had a stealth mode. Steph settled on a pair of daisy duke shorts and a gauzy blue forget-me-not print tank top. Tiny little straps. Tight around her breasts. Soft, flowing fabric gathered between them to accommodate the swell of belly and the adorably outturned belly button, while proving that she was every inch the sexy woman she'd always been. So sweet he had a mind to toss her down on the bed and inch the fabric up with his teeth.

Something to keep in mind for later. "Ready?"

She nodded and took her bag from the end of the bed. Ranger led the way to the elevator. Hit six for the control room.

All of his buildings were roughly the same. They varied in size. Height. But he'd tried to keep to the same basic layout. Made things simple. Easy. He could tell Steph got some serious déjà vu again when the elevator doors opened and they stepped out onto the floor. Control desk monitors. Cubicles. Placement of his office. All of it nearly identical to Trenton. And beside his office, in place of Tank's, sat the door of his Miami second in command.

Lester Santos met them on the control room floor as soon as the elevator doors opened, no doubt alerted to their movements. He didn't look at all surprised to see Steph. He'd been told Ranger had a woman with him, and that said woman was very pregnant. Hadn't known who until now. He grinned. "Hey, it's the chick who doesn't like to get arrested or shot," he said, offering a hand. Wiseass.

"Steph, you remember Lester Santos. Lester's been heading Rangeman Miami since I acquired it."

"We met on the interior decorating job, right?"

Ranger nodded. "You've also met the man I've got over the Boston office, Bobby Brown."

"I got the better gig," Les said with a grin. "He's up there freezing his ass off every winter while I get the land of eternal summer. Not to mention the babes in bikinis," he added with a wink at Steph.

Ranger raised his brow a fraction, but Santos was busy checking out Stephanie with less subtly than Ranger was used to. No need to spell out for him that Steph was Ranger's woman, the belly did that all on its own. But it seemed the Miami office wasn't going to be as good at adjusting to Ranger's growing family as Trenton was. A hard look was enough to put Santos in his place. "We hear anything yet?"

Les shook his head. "I've got Chuck on the police scanners and Diego and Johnny canvassing hotels. If someone fitting Marco's description pops up we'll know it. Until then, I've got facial rec combing social media. Might take a while, but with the high volume of selfies and tourist shots on South Beach, it's possible we'll get lucky."

"Keep me posted. We're gonna go do a little legwork."

Lester dropped a skeptical look to the belly at the word legwork. Remembered himself a half second later. "Yes, sir," Les added for good measure.

Ranger gave him a curt nod and put a hand to Steph's back to guide her out. The pristine black Porsche 911 Turbo was waiting for them in his personal space beside the elevator, between his Porsche Cayenne and his black Ford F150. Steph paused when she saw the black Bentley at the end of the line. "What is that?"

"Client car."

"You drive that to meet your clients? That's a $300,000 car!"

"It's an image thing, Babe."

"I thought your image was Porsches."

"Porsche doesn't say here what it does in Trenton. Here, the point is better made with a Bentley."

He opened her door for her and waited patiently for her to respond. She gaped for an adorable second and then took the hand he offered and angled into the passenger seat of the Turbo. He shut the door and went around to his side to slip into the driver's seat. Then he put the high performance car in gear and pulled out onto the streets of Miami.

ooo

Steph

It took a grand total of one city block for me to understand what he'd meant about the Bentley. In Trenton, the black Porsche 911 Turbo made a statement, and everyone knew that statement belonged to Ranger. In Miami? Not so much. In less than a mile we'd passed another black 911, a green Porsche Carrera, and two Panamas, one silver one red. And on the second mile, I spotted a matched set of Cayennes sitting side by side at a stoplight.

"Holy cats. It's like Miami is one big Porsche dealership."

He didn't respond, but I think he might have been smiling.

"Where are we going, anyway?"

"South Beach. According to our intel, our man was last seen there at just before five yesterday afternoon. Hard to say where he stayed last night, seeing as he wasn't harbored by any of his known associates."

"And by known associates you mean your family."

He nodded. Like that fact didn't mean anything to him. Wow.

"Sometimes you talk about this like the man we're trying to find isn't your own brother."

"The job's the job, Babe. Can't take it personal."

"Except this isn't just a job. He's not FTA and no one's paying us. And he's your brother."

"Right now he's just a skip who's trying to flee our custody. It's not productive to worry about anything beyond that at the moment."

He'd said it with such dispassion that I'd almost believed him. "So what happens when we find him?"

Ranger cut a glance to me and then faced the road again. "Let's just find him first."

Boy. Not in a particularly good mood.

I let Ranger get back into his zone again while I watched Miami slip by the windows. The center city was full of sky scrapers and high rise apartment buildings. A wide open and impressive skyline. But they got shorter and fewer the closer we got to the shore. By the time we reached South Beach, it was like a different world. Colorful and art deco like old episodes of Miami vice. The smooth pale sands stretched flat right along the edge of the city, crowded with scantily clad people with incredible bodies. The palm trees had made a strong impression the moment we left the Rangeman building, but following along Ocean Drive, boutique shops on one side, the stretch of lawn the only thing between us and the Atlantic on the other, I couldn't imagine how the feel of south Florida could be any clearer.

We found a place to park and Ranger angled out of the car. Opened my door and offered me a hand. The oppressive humidity hit me all at once, followed by the cool heat that pressed along my entire body, coating my exposed skin with an instant sheen. "Jeez, it feels like Hawaii here. I'm getting half my daily water intake just from breathing."

That finally got a smile out of him. "I could think of a few other ways to make it feel like Hawaii."

He touched the small of my back and I got a full body tingle. "So, what's the plan?"

"Manny works in a lounge across the street. I thought we'd have a face to face before we extend our search. Depending on the outcome, our next step would be to check the more likely bars and night clubs to see if anyone remembers our man and who he might have been seen with. Lester has people canvassing hotels, but I don't see our target doing something so obvious and predictable. Given he didn't go to family, I'm betting he found a woman to go home with last night."

"You think he went home with a random woman just so he wouldn't have to stay in a hotel?"

"Well, that's not the only reason, but I'm sure it was on the list."

No judgment. Interesting. I won't lie, the inference made me a teensy bit jealous. I fixed him with a stare. "Have you ever hooked up with a random woman to avoid a hotel bill?"

That got me a real smile. "Babe."

"What? Have you?"

The shake of his head was barely there. He was laughing at me. Wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me into him, his lips brushing my neck just under my ear. Made a familiar heat uncurl low in my belly. "Not to avoid a hotel bill."

"So that's a yes on the random women?" I asked, trying to ignore the way my knees went soft.

His voice got even more velvet. A soft laugh tickling my skin and skittering down my body. "In another life," he whispered. Pressed a kiss to my neck and then moved back with a grin. Started across the street with his arm still around me. Which was good. If it weren't for that arm I might have forgotten how my legs worked.

The bar where Ranger's cousin worked was on the ground floor of a boutique hotel, open to the ocean air via a veranda and the giant wall of glass doors. I spotted a good looking Latino guy slinging drinks behind the crowded counter. He was shorter than Ranger, and a lot skinnier, but there was a little hint of family resemblance. "Is that your cousin Manny?" I asked Ranger.

Ranger nodded. "We were thick as thieves in high school. Literally. Got in trouble for shoplifting once when we were fifteen."

My brows went up. Not because it was surprising that Ranger would steal, but because he'd shared it unprompted. "And you learned your lesson?"

"Yep. Don't get caught."

Made sense. And to be honest, after seeing all those pictures of him growing up, and hearing his family's stories, it was easy to picture a hotheaded fifteen-year-old Ranger sitting side by side with his cousin in a security office somewhere, analyzing his mistakes so he'd never repeat them. "So Manny was a trouble maker too."

"Not that my Aunt Alma believed it. I was the little punk gang banger, after all. Car thief. Juvenile delinquent. Little did she know most of the shit we got into was Manny's idea. I'm actually surprise that we survived into adulthood without either of us ODing or doing time."

"Jeez, it can't have been that bad."

Ranger's eyes crinkled at the corners. "Let's just say we were lucky our grandma had a firm backhand and refused to take shit or excuses."

Manny passed the last cocktail to a woman in a tight fuchsia dress and waited for her to walk away, and then held out a hand with a huge grin. "Hey, Cuz!" The complicated fist bumping ended in a one armed hug. Then he gave me a thorough scan that ended in a belly double take. Leaned closer to Ranger. "Uh. Is it just me, or is your lady friend…"

"This is my girlfriend Stephanie.

"Cool, cool. So that's a yes?" Ranger did one of his almost head nods and Manny grinned. "Congrats, man. And I gotta say, she is smoking hot. I got all the way to those legs before I realized what I missed."

"I can hear you," I told him.

Manny sucked in a breath. "Shit."

Pretty sure Ranger was thinking about smiling. "I don't suppose Marco turned up yet."

"Naw, man. Still haven't seen him since yesterday."

"How'd he look? He say anything?"

"Nothing I remember. He was real quiet. Like he had a lot on his mind."

"You wanna be more specific?"

"I don't know. Distracted? Like he was trying to work something out in his head. Like the kind of face you used to get when you were up to something."

"Get any impression what he might be up to?"

Manny shook his head.

"He flew here under an alias. You catch any names?"

"No, but I did see his wallet. Had a lot of cash on him. And I mean a _lot_ of cash."

"Any place you can think of where he might hang out?"

"Marco? Man, Marco likes the night life. You hit up some clubs tonight, I bet you'll find him."

Ranger scanned Ocean Drive as we left the lounge. "It's not a good sign that he has that much cash on him. Means his flight might have been preplanned. Not to mention there'll be no chance of a credit trail to follow." He looked at his watch. "We've got a few hours. We'll grab some dinner while we figure out his next move."

"You think you can predict where he'll be tonight?"

"Maybe. There are advantages to knowing a skip so well. I know the kinds of places he'd never end up."

"Like gay clubs or country bars."

"Or any place with a dress code. Marco doesn't do classy. Mostly he likes places where he fits in. Hangs with lowlifes and bikers. I've dragged him out of more than one rat hole dive bar in Newark when our mother hadn't heard from him in too many days."

"So we have to check in all the rat hole dive bars in South Beach?"

"For a start."

We decided to eat at a burger place a few blocks away, and I took as much pleasure in sitting down as I did the food. I was at the stage in my pregnancy where I was pretty much over standing up. Ranger finished eating first and called Lester Santos for a progress report. Ranger doesn't say much when he's on the phone. Mostly he just listens. His eyes never left me, a hint of funny in them as he watched me inhale my burger. He disconnected. "Got a few hits from facial recognition. Apparently Marco was at a dance club last night. Got friendly with a busty blonde."

"Can we use that to find him?"

"Not likely. But it might give us a neighborhood to start in."

"I don't suppose there are any more factors we can use to narrow it down."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Like a particular kind of clientele? Or a favorite beer on tap?"

"Marco's not really a beer guy. More hard liquor. Likes to get drunk as fast as possible."

That inspired a thought. "Does he drink Everclear?"

"When available. How did you know that?"

"Loopy. The fireman said that's what Loopy used when she tried to set Briggs' apartment on fire. Is that sold a lot of places?"

"Not in Florida. At least not the high octane kind," he said, tapping his phone again. "Do a rundown on all the establishments in the area that might stock high proof Everclear on the down low and prioritize them by distance from the tagged image. I want a man sent to every location, but tell them to keep their distance. I don't want him spooked." He disconnected. "You may have just made our night easier."

ooo

Ranger

Santos kept him in the loop while his men canvassed. Took a few hours to get a hit. Crappy dive a mile from the strip. It wasn't the worst place he'd ever had to drag his brother out of. That list would include illegal brothels, crack houses, and once a heroine den. But he still wasn't thrilled about walking a very pregnant Stephanie into a seedy bar. If it weren't for the absolute fact he needed her, he would have had her driven back to Rangeman.

His eyes narrowed onto the familiar figure leaning on the bar and he felt his blood pressure go up. It was a fortunate distraction when Steph faltered, thrown by the resemblance. Marco had a leaner build than Ranger in his scrubby black jeans and blood red Henley, and he was a couple shades lighter under the scruffy three day beard and the tattoos, but there could never be question that they were brothers. For Steph, it had to be like looking at an alternate reality. A version of him that never cleaned up his life or tried to make good. Never learned to bridle that overwhelming anger that used to control him.

They saw that anger first hand when Marco swung his black, unfocused eyes their way.

A hard, sardonic smile lifted one corner of his mouth. Along with a fair amount of contempt and a single, dry laugh. He turned back to his shot with infuriating unhurry. "What took you so long?"

The room had stopped. Every one of the handful of patrons turning their attention. Not hard to tell the crackle of energy that defined his fraternal relationship gave them pause. They probably thought the hardened mercenary had come in looking for blood. Weren't far off. "I'm sorry. Did I miss the invitation?"

"Musta missed somethin'." Marco knocked back the shot and ground his teeth at the burn. "Gotta say I'm disappointed. I thought you supposed to be like a bloodhound or some shit. Always get your man, right? Fuckin' pathetic."

"You're drunk."

"You don't know shit." He swung them a second look, gloating this time, until those unfocused eyes landed on Steph. They took a tour of her best parts, too drunk to see anything but tits and ass. "Heard you had a girl. Never thought you'd bring 'er, though. You always been more the fuck 'em and leave 'em type. Right princess?"

Steph took instant umbrage. "Don't call me—"

"He wasn't talking to you, Steph."

The words had been deliberately calm, but even he'd heard the razor edge to them. A hard reminder that he wasn't as evolved as he wanted to be. Marco knew where every button was, and what order to press them in to get Ranger into a fury feedback loop. Calling him back to the time in their lives when Marco'd been bigger and stronger was just the opening gambit in a long and exhausting game. "I think it's time we take this to a more appropriate location."

"Fuck that, I ain't done here," Marco said, tapping his shot glass for the bartender.

The bartender didn't move. More afraid of Ranger than he was the inebriated jackass occupying his stool. Rubbed Marco wrong in a very large way.

"Know what I don't get?" he said, losing even more of his composure. "Why this beautiful, sweet looking young lady would want anything to do with your self-righteous entitled ass. She looks way too good for you. What is it, baby? You bored? You havin' a little fuck on the wild side?"

"Not smart," Ranger warned.

"Fuck you, princess. You got no authority here," Marco said, reaching for a bottle over the edge of the bar when the bartender ignored him again.

"Don't need it. You and I both know if you call the police to stop me they'll pack you up with bracelets and chains and put you on a plane back to Jersey. Real inconvenient, being charged with murder. Might ruin your day."

The already tense atmosphere thickened. Every eye in the place darting between Ranger and his brother. Marco finally stood. Knocked back the shot he'd poured for himself. "Like you give a fuck. You always did think that you were better than me. Like you had a right to judge. And now you're all big time. With your expensive ass cars and your fancy business and your hot piece of tail. He thinks he's a badass soldier, but really he's still nothing but a little punk bitch. No way he's givin' you what you need, right baby? You need a real man."

Ranger stepped forward, warning radiating from his entire body, but Steph touched his arm and put herself between them. The angle gave Marco an all new view. His eyes went round and he stumbled back, knocking the stool over behind him. Started swearing.

" _What the fuck is that_ ," he managed in Spanish. " _You fuckin' knocked up another one? Ruinin' one girls life wasn't enough, you hadda pop out another kid to abandon?_ " There was pleasure mixed into his contempt. Like he'd finally found proof that would knock Ranger off his high horse. "I might notta gone to college," he said in English so Steph could hear, "but at least I know how to use a condom."

Ranger sidestepped Steph on instinct. His fist connected with Marco's jaw. Marco went down hard and Ranger had to fight tooth and nail not to finish the job. Pinned him facedown and ratcheted cuffs behind his back before he dragged him up and handed him off to Johnny with instructions to put him in a holding cell at Rangeman. He stood there hands on hips watching his brother get taken away, measuring his breaths in an attempt to lower his blood pressure. He was still seeing red when Steph's energy eased into his atmosphere, her hand brushing soft to his elbow. "You okay?"

"Yes."

"It's okay to be not okay."

Something eased in his chest, her sweet presence doing more to relieve the tension than combat breathing ever could. An honest smile lifted the corner of his mouth. Thank god for sunshine. "Marco always was a belligerent drunk. No point trying to get answers from him until he's sober." He wrapped an arm around Steph and pulled her in close. Brushing a grateful kiss to her lips. "He can sit in a holding cell on the third floor tonight. See if he's feeling more cooperative in the morning."


	74. Chapter 74

AU of Plum Crazy

* * *

Chapter Seventy-Four

Steph

We drove back to Rangeman in silence. Parked in his personal space by the elevator. Ranger hit six before he gave me his keys. "I've got some work to do tonight. If you need anything, Delma is eight on the intercom."

"Will you be gone long?"

The almost smile surfaced again. "Not too long. You can wait up for me if you want."

There was an implied promise in there that I would very much enjoy waiting up for him, but behind it was a shadow I'd come to know all too well. I was trying to decide what to say when the elevator doors opened and Ranger stepped out onto the floor with only the barest brush of goodbye kiss. I watched him stride toward his office before the doors slid shut. Let out a sigh. Hit the button on the key fob and sent the elevator up to the tenth floor.

I'd tried to wait up for him, but I fell asleep around midnight. I blame it on the bed. Ranger had impeccable taste when it came to comfort. Might have been because of the years he spent sleeping on dirt floors in third world countries. Either way, his bed was definitely on my list of top five favorite things, right behind birthday cake, sex, and room service.

Ranger was in the bed next to me when I woke up. Hard to tell from his breathing if he was sleeping. It was often hard to tell with Ranger. I rolled over to enjoy the glorious sight of his bare mocha skin and perfect body wrapped in nothing but a thin cream colored sheet. His eyes opened, holding mine. Brushed a finger across my temple to tuck a stray curl behind my ear. "Didn't feel like waiting up?"

"I tried. My body had other ideas."

A smile lifted his face. "I was afraid I'd wear you out. Wasn't even doing something fun."

"But it was necessary." His expression warmed when I looked at his body again, but I could still see shadow. A sort of softness came to his eyes when I laid my hand over his heart. "You didn't really _have_ work to do. Did you."

"I never said the work was pressing."

"You just didn't want to talk about it."

Ranger closed his hand around mine and lifted it to his lips. Kissed my palm. Reached around to gather me into him until our bodies were touching. "No. I didn't want to talk about it. Still don't. But I've been trying to make a committed effort not to shut you out. It's admittedly harder than it sounds. I've got a lot of years of habit to undo."

I tipped my head back to look at him. "You're trying to open up to me?"

The twitch at the corner of his mouth said yes. "I realized it around the time I took you home to the Batcave. You were right. There were parts of myself I could have been sharing with you and didn't. I figured it didn't matter, you already knew me better than any person on earth, enough to predict my movements and understand my choices. But seeing you digging through my old stuff like an overzealous archeologist made me realize you needed more. Fact you finally gave up your apartment after that and decided I was home was evidence to that effect." He brushed an electric kiss to my lips. "You're too insatiably curious to not need as much as I could give."

"Is that why you waited so long to tell your family about me? Celia said you dropped the word girlfriend three months ago. That's around the time I gave up my apartment."

"Babe, you'd only started using the word girlfriend three months before that."

"Okay that's true, but in my defense this was a very hard thing to wrap my head around. You went from the scary doesn't do relationships list to the boyfriend list practically overnight. So, you wanted to make sure I would stick before you brought me home?"

"Didn't want to scare you off."

Like I hadn't had the same thought about him once or twice. "I guess the not sharing thing did make me nervous. It's nice, knowing who you used to be. Seeing he's still part of who you are."

"For better or worse," he murmured, but I had a feeling he only meant worse.

I cradled his cheek with my hand and fixed him with a serious stare. "Even Batman loses his cool sometimes."

A hint of funny came back to his eyes, covering a little more of the shadow. He kissed my palm in a way that had the warm glow moving all the way to my toes. "Marco should be good and hung over by now. You want to be involved in the questioning?"

"Is that a good idea?"

"It's not a _bad_ idea. You do have a talent for getting people to tell you things."

"I don't know. I wasn't all that helpful last night when he was hitting on me."

"You did better than me. At least you kept your temper in check."

"What did he say to you?"

"You heard the best part."

"And the rest?"

Ranger measured his silence. Struggling with his new commitment to openness. Let out an actual sigh. "Sibling rivalry is an understatement when it comes to me and my brother. Not a good way to grow up. Always trying to prove I was good enough. Him always trying to make sure I wasn't. For a lot of years that meant taking anything that mattered to me. Jobs, street cred. Girls. And then came Rachel."

"Don't tell me he tried to steal Rachel!"

"I wouldn't have put it past him, but since Rachel never went up to Jersey to meet the family he never had the opportunity. Mostly he just keeps her in his back pocket so he can throw it in my face as often as possible that her life was permanently altered because of me."

"Oh god. So the part about the condom wasn't just an insult, it was to drive a wedge between us like we aren't a couple? What a jackass."

That time Ranger did smile. "For transparency's sake it was an assumption based on an established pattern of behavior. I'd never done emotionally involved before you. When he saw you were expecting, he had no reason to think you were anything but another Rachel."

"Well, he's in for a rude awakening."

Ranger's soft laugh did a lot to alleviate the rest of his shadows.

"Okay I've got to know. Why did he call you princess?"

"Remember when I said I used to get beat up a lot because being skinny and pretty with long straight hair made me look like a girl?"

She nodded.

"Marco thought he was being funny and it stuck a while."

"They used to call you princess?"

"There were a few variations, but that was always Marco's favorite."

"Wow. So what kind of princess are we talking about? The pretty pretty kind, or the faery kind that comes with a magic wand…"

I knew I was dangling out bait and loving every second of it, knowing Ranger's blood went hot when I teased him. Expecting it didn't take any of the pleasure away when he grabbed two fistfuls of ass and dragged my best parts up against his, the hardest of which was pressing into me in just the right spot. "Dangerous ground, Babe," he growled into my mouth.

I gasped. Couldn't help it. Which only encouraged him. His fingers were in my panties, his teeth threatening my bottom lip, and I was practically blind with the need for more. "Bibbity. Bobbity—" I didn't get to Boo because his finger went inside me. I didn't hold back the sounds this time. Hearing them filled him with a surging heat. As consumed as I was as he took my mouth. Stoking me long and deep until I was practically there. It took some angling to line us up right, but in seconds I was throwing my head back and bursting at the seams, the pleasure wringing out of me in short gasping cries. His grip on me tightened on the last thrust, both of us vibrating to the same frequency, and I let the relief wash me with the relaxation and love I only ever felt with him.

Ranger caressed every inch of my belly while I purred, clearly proud of the way he could still make me lose all my pieces no matter the degree of difficulty. Savoring the union before he angled over me to brush a reverent kiss to my lips. "We've got a decent window to go down to three and interrogate Marco. Whether you come into the holding cell or not is up to you, but either way I need you there. Waiting to step in if it looks like I might kill him."

"Ha ha."

"It's cute that you think I'm joking." He kissed me again and got up, shifting off the bed in all his naked glory. "I'll call in for breakfast and start the shower. Let me know if you need help getting up."

"You're pretty full of yourself if you think I'm too limp noodle to even move."

The jerk had the nerve to smile.

I heard him hit 8 on the phone and talk to Delma. Heard the cascade of water start in the bathroom. I gave it a few minutes to warm up before I tried to muster enough will to actually move. I could feel the laughter in his gaze as he leaned against the bathroom doorway watching. I sighed. "Okay. I guess you can help me up if it would make you happy."

ooo

Marco

The sandbag feeling in his body was nothing compared to the fuckin' shriek of fingernails scraping at the inside of his skull. Like he'd been soaked in formaldehyde, wrung dry, and then stuffed with ash and a half ton of lead. He barely remembered getting tossed in the twelve by twelve cinderblock cell. Flopping down on the shit metal rack of a bed. Hadn't bother taking off a single thing from his shirt to his boots before he blacked out.

He couldn't stop the flinch when the cell door kicked open. Felt an irritating presence saunter in like he fuckin' god damn owned the place. Perfect. Just fan-fuckin'-tastic. Shit he needed a drink. "I can't deal with you right now, princess. Go bother somebody else."

Not that he thought there was any chance in hell the prick would actually leave him alone. History had proved that a shit ton more times than he'd ever bothered to count. He could feel Golden Boy standin' there starin' at him, hands on hips, disgusted frown. No surprise when he up and kicked the worthless metal rack, makin' the whole rig rattle. Damn near split his fuckin' head in two. Half sick when his lungs sucked in a breath without him. "Yeah," Fuckin' Golden Boy said. "Hangovers are a bitch."

"Are you still here?"

Fuckin' narcissist was getting' way too much pleasure outta this. "Here's the thing, Marco. We got a problem. I'm figuring you know that, given the whole fleeing the vicinity thing."

If he didn't feel like a thousand pounds of burning sand in a man suit he'd of shoved a fist into that pretty boy face of his. Hated the fuck outta havin' to settle for a happy-fuck-off middle finger. Rolled his back for emphasis and the prick kicked the rig busted, spilling Marco onto the floor bedding and all. His body smacked the ground and he swore his ribs bruised, squeezing a long and pathetic groan from him. "What the fuck, man?"

"Start talking."

"Or what? Is the big bad Ranger gonna beat the shit out of his older brother just because he can? Big man wanna look good in front of his lady?"

"Drop the shit, Marco. The asshole bit is tired. I need to know what we're dealing with here."

"Oh, 'cause you gonna fix it?"

"Yes. I'm gonna fix it. Because like it or not that's what I do, and the options now are to get a handle on it or hang you out to dry."

"Two guesses which one you'd rather do."

Golden Boy stood there a minute, like his piece of shit fuck up of a brother wasn't worthy to share his air. Rushin' in unasked _again_ like he was savin' the fuckin' day. Saint Action Hero clenched his fists. Thinking about knocking his brother's jaw off for a second time. Took in a breath. "Did you kill Lupita Ortiz?"

Marco felt the sick feeling dial to hatred as he fixed contempt on his brother.

"You're not doing yourself any favors by not cooperating."

God, he fuckin' hated that self-righteous prick. "Tell me something, princess. Would you even give a rat's ass if it weren't for Mom?" Golden Boy just stared at him, the muscle in his jaw ticking. That was answer enough. Hated Marco almost as much as Marco hated himself. The sick in Marco's stomach took a bad turn. "Speakin' of Mom, does she know about you knocking up another one?"

"This isn't about Stephanie."

"Yeah I'd stick with that too if I were you. Better yet, does your _Stephanie_ know about what happened with your last babymama? Where'd you even meet a _Stephanie_ anyway. That's a name that's got stripper written all over it. Or maybe prostitute. Is that it? You raw dog a whore and now all that Dudley-Do-Rightness got you throwing around rings again so the kid won't be born a bastard?"

The flash of murderous rage gave him more satisfaction than fear, Do-Right an inch from snapping like a fuckin' firecracker. Marco glared right back, daring him to do it, until the door clicked open catching them both off guard.

There wasn't a bang like with Action Hero. More a clumsy fumbling. And then the babymama came in belly leading, scraping all four legs of a metal chair behind her across the cement floor. It ate at his brain, but his eyes stayed fixed to her through the torture. Unable to look away. She stopped dragging the chair somewhere in the middle of the room and planted her ass right on it. "I know you didn't say anything about a chair, but I really am over standing up."

"What the hell is this?"

"Stephanie Plum. Apparently I'm the stripper slash 'ho your brother impregnated. Not nearly as flattering as the sweet too good for him girl you said I was last night."

He had no fucking idea what to say to that.

"Stephanie is a bounty hunter when she's not on maternity leave," Ranger said, the cold slice of fury saying clear that the only reason Marco wasn't spitting out teeth was because of her. "I wouldn't disrespect her if I were you. Now I'm gonna ask again, and this time I want an answer. Did you murder Lupita Ortiz?"

"You shouldn't have to ask me that."

"I also shouldn't have had to chase you down like a skip fleeing justice."

Marco scoffed, making the eye roll so obvious they could see it from space. "Yeah, poor baby. I thought you did this for a living and it takes you a whole day to follow breadcrumbs?"

He let the words just hang there, stinking up the air. Letting it sink in good and deep. He saw it when it did. Saw the fierce light flick over to analyzing shadow when That Fucking Golden Boy realized he wasn't actually the smartest guy in the room for once. God that was fucking gratifying. Seeing his smartass baby brother realize that he didn't tip off the sister they were both closest too by accident. Same with their favorite cousin. Marco could have gone anywhere and vanished like the fucking wind and he chose to go to Ranger's back yard and wait for him like a fucking pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Marco saw the wonderous moment Ranger realized he'd been played.

His bounty-hunting babymama cut a look to him, out of her depth, but not Ranger. He was watching his older brother with begrudging respect. "You have my attention."

"Good," Marco said, slouching against the battered off kilter bed frame, his long legs bent in front of him, arms hanging over his knees. A mark of casual control. "From that stone cold soldier face I'm guessing you just realized we're not here by accident."

"Enlighten me."

"Truth is I'm in a tight spot. Had a deal go sideways. Didn't have the connections to fix it myself."

"Let me guess. I do."

"See, pretty and smart."

"And what connections exactly did you think you were luring me down here to exploit?"

"Streets say you used to run with a guy called Asimov."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. Streets also implied said associate is one of the biggest arms dealers on the east coast."

"And that's what you need."

"That's what I need."

"I don't suppose you feel like explaining what the hell you've gotten yourself into."

"Not particularly."

"Let me rephrase. You want Asimov, you give details. Or I walk and you can figure it out on your own."

That finally got the smirk off Marco's face. "Fine. Since your precious ass needs details. I agreed to be the middle man for a deal 'bout a week back. Was supposed to get a shipment of guns from some Russian assholes. Only they didn't show. I'm left holding an assload of cash and no guns. Can't exactly go back to the buyers and explain that to them. So I'm trying to be creative. Figured I'd find another source on my own."

"Where does Loopy fit in?" Babymama asked.

Marco slid her a look. Not sure what to make of her. "Buyers were her contacts."

"And she's dead because…"

"I'm guessing they didn't like that I didn't show up with their goods on time."

"You really expect me to buy that?" Ranger said.

"Don't care what you buy. I just need Asimov."

Marco's little brother studied him for a long time. Trying to dig around inside his head. Marco gave him shit to see. "Why leave breadcrumbs? Why not just ask for my help."

"First off, this is not asking for your help, princess. This is exploiting your contacts. You're nothing but a shortcut from A to B for me."

"And second?"

"Somebody put a bullet between my girl's eyes. You think it's smart for me to make myself easy to find? Cops aren't the only ones gonna be looking for me."


	75. Chapter 75

AU of Plum Crazy

* * *

Chapter Seventy-Five

Steph

Ranger didn't say a word when we left Marco's cell, his whole being in silent mode. Can't say I blamed him. If my brother had just said all that I'd be freaking out. After last night I'd assumed Marco was just a screw up. The bitter big brother who couldn't handle his little brother's success. Apparently we'd both underestimated him. Marco wasn't a screw up. He was smart. And crafty. He was the anti-Ranger.

"Do you believe him?"

Ranger shrugged, still deep in thought. "It's an interesting story. Parts of it make sense, but it's hard to say without corroborating evidence."

"Do you actually know a guy named Asimov?"

"I do. Though he doesn't go by that name often. It's more a gimmick than it is a cover."

"Is he really a big time arms dealer?"

"Yes."

"And you used to work with him?"

The corner of his mouth twitched. "Still work with him, Babe. He's a client."

"Omigod."

That time he smiled. "Babe. You do realize that brokering arms deals isn't actually illegal, right?"

"So what Marco's asking isn't against the law?"

"Buying, no. Moving the merchandise across state lines is more a legal gray area, though."

"So what do we do?"

"Right now our best move is to give Marco what he wants. A face to face with the man he calls Asimov. Shouldn't be hard. He's hosting a party tonight at his beach front mansion. Rangeman is providing security."

"So you can just put us on the guest list?" He nodded. "And then?"

"And then we find out what Marco is really after."

Ranger had some work to do to prepare for the night, so he sent me back upstairs where I'd be comfortable. Said that Delma would likely come up for some of his clothes at some point. She'd been given the task of getting Marco cleaned up and looking like a respectable potential buyer. I thought this was optimistic. Even Ranger didn't look respectable on his best days. Ranger reeked of bad boy through and through. I was thinking the best we could hope for with Anti-Ranger was that he might not look like he'd been scrounged out of the shallow end of a dumpster.

Normally I don't need more than a couple hours to get ready for a night out. But normal didn't usually have me going to a swanky Miami party at a beachfront mansion owned by an arms dealer either. By lunch time I was starting to regret not having any cases to work or baby clothes to sort. I could have used a serious distraction.

Delma ended up being a plump little sweet faced Cuban lady who didn't seem to speak any English. Mostly she just smiled at me where I sat with my feet up, a bowl of pretzels balanced on my belly. She set lunch on the kitchen counter, helped herself to Ranger's closet and left. Ranger showed up not long after. Got a couple plates out of the cupboard and brought them to the covered tray. "We're all set for tonight. Including an extra level of armed escort. Mostly for show. And of course for minimizing the chances of losing Marco again."

"Do you think that's a possibility?"

"I think it's smart not to underestimate him. I've also received an update from Tank. They've released the autopsy report and officially ruled out Hal's gun as a possible murder weapon. The three of you are still considered persons of interest, but it's more as eye witnesses rather than suspects."

"I'm guessing Marco took Hal's place at the top of the list?"

"You'd guess right. They want him in for questioning in connection to the murder of Lupita Ortiz. Whispers suggest an arrest warrant is likely to follow." He portioned out the food. "There's also been murmuring about my possible involvement. Apparently Moran thinks the partial surveillance was suspicious. Along with the paper trail on the motorcycle Loopy was driving."

"Morelli said you bought it."

"Misguided attempt to mend fences."

"They can't really think you'd be involved."

"Babe. I chased my brother to Miami and now I'm about to assist in brokering an arms deal for unknown clients without a full understanding of what those arms will be used for. Hard to get more involved than that."

That was hideously true. Which meant I was unofficially in the same boat.

Ranger went back to work after lunch, leaving me to get dressed. I went through my part of the closet again. Looking over all the pretty things Ella had picked out for me. My eye kept catching on the shiny gold dress. It wouldn't cover a lot of me. Strapless empire waist and a short flowing skirt. Clung to me in all the right places. It seemed way too fancy, but Ranger had said it was eveningwear and who was I to argue with that?

I made sure my hair and makeup were flawless, and then I slipped into the dress I'd laid out on the foot of the bed. I felt Ranger come out of the closet behind me, his clever fingers taking the opportunity to do some strategic groping before he lifted the zipper into place at the back. Brushed a kiss to my neck. "Giving Ella that credit card was the best decision I ever made."

I turned to look at him and felt my mouth fall open. Holy cats, he looked edible. The perfect black pressed linen shirt clung to his incredible body like it had been made just for him. Hell, it probably had been. Black slacks. Silk tie. Expensive Italian leather shoes. This was better than corporate Ranger. This was business mogul Ranger. A feral panther in a thousand dollar suit. His eyes dilating to deep black when he took me in from bare feet to chocolate curls in one long lazy stroke. A carnivorous look stealing over him. His eyes held mine and from the way my body responded, he might as well have snatched me up, bent me down over the edge of the bed and torn the dress off with his teeth.

I think I might have almost had an orgasm.

A smile twitched at one corner of his mouth. "I'd love nothing more than to let you jump me, Babe, but we have business to attend to tonight."

"You're the one who's thinking about jumping _me_!"

Some wolf twisted into his half smile. He didn't deny it. "Do you need help with your shoes?"

"Yes please."

Ranger smiled and I took a seat on the foot of the bed while Ranger picked up my pretty golden sandals and lowered to one knee. Lifted one of my feet to his thigh. He hesitated and I realized that from that angle he was getting a direct look right up my short flowing skirt. The apex predator looked up at me and I couldn't help but smile. Bounced my eyebrows up, just once. His eyes were black. Fingers tracing my leg. He didn't break eye contact when he leaned close and brushed a kiss to my knee, then my inner thigh. In only a few inches I was leaning back on my elbows just trying to keep at least some of my self-control intact. He didn't remove a single scrap of clothing, but he did manage to put me in a very _very_ relaxed mood. I bit my lip when he stood, ready for him to lose the perfect sexy belt and climb over me, but instead he took the other shoe and fit it to my foot, caressing my other leg with lazy possession. "Ready to go?"

"What about you?"

"Babe, I've got years' worth of practice waiting for you. I can wait a few hours." Ranger leaned over me and kissed my lips, slow and sensual. Took my hands and lifted me to my feet. Ranger stepped back and shrugged into his jacket, and then put a hand to my back to guide me out, the pressure adding to the glorious tingle still whizzing through my happy body.

We left the elevator on the ground floor parking garage. Ranger bypassed the Porsches and the truck. Went straight for the Bentley at the end of the line. The stairwell doors clicked beside the elevators and a man the size of a rhinoceros came out and stood at attention while another behemoth followed, a space between them. And then Rhino moved over and fell in line with a handsome man in a black suit, flanking him like secret service. The man was suave, with the kind of swagger and natural animal magnetism that would make most women go gooey. Thick wavy black hair long enough to dust his collar. Strikingly dark eyes. His café latte coloring said Latino. His strong features softened by the confident smirk and the…

Omigod.

Never in a million years had I expected Marco to clean up that well. He didn't look like a scrubby lowlife anymore. He looked like a politician. The scruffy black beard was gone, revealing even more of his already nice face. His hair had been trimmed and styled. And replacing the grungy street clothes with the Italian suit gave him instant sex appeal.

It was the first moment that I truly appreciated that this was Ranger's brother.

The cocky air got stronger when he looked me over. Marco liked the gold dress as much as Ranger did. Ranger didn't give him a chance to say it, though. He nodded to Thing One and Thing Two and they adjusted their course. Heading for a fleet vehicle and herding Marco with them. Ranger opened my door for me.

"I thought you were worried about flight risks. You don't want to keep him in sight?"

"Mace and Cordon will be able to handle him. At least until he gets what he wants. Besides. I've got him tagged with a GPS locator just in case."

"Crafty."

He was thinking about smiling. "Got a lot of practice keeping troublemakers on my radar screen, Babe."

ooo

Ranger

The second Steph got a load of the beachside mansion her mouth fell open, properly speechless. He always got a kick out of that. The place was admittedly impressive. Not quite as massive as the palatial villas he'd see in Columbia that had been owned by kingpins and drug lords, but definitely impressive. Three stories. Dozen bedrooms spread out over several wings. Palm tree lined drive and giant black iron gate, all covered by a custom security system and armed guards he knew by name. Spelled out aloof danger and stunning success all at once.

Ranger pulled the Bentley around the circular drive and left it running for the valet, then went around to help Stephanie. The seat was easier to angle out of than the Turbo, but he wrapped around her anyway and held her close. As much to claim her and their unborn child as it was to enjoy the feel of her against him. This party wasn't going to be anywhere close to a family affair. No sense leaving the opening for a misunderstanding.

Steph knew exactly how much she'd bitten off. "No need to be nervous, Babe."

"How could I not be nervous? I've never met an arms dealer before."

He laughed, kissing below her ear. "Cute." Like she didn't know he used to have his hands in the same game early on. She'd not only met an arms dealer. She'd known one in the biblical sense.

Steph swung a look to where Mace and Cordon were getting out of the Explorer behind them. Held the door open for Marco. Marco's eyes were sharp as he angled out. Rebuttoned the suit jacket and tugged it into place with all the control of a Wallstreet shark. Steph couldn't reconcile the new look with the old Marco, but Ranger knew from experience that no matter how much polish you added, an asshole was still an asshole.

He kept Steph close and led her up the long stone walk to the massive resort style pool. In the light of day it was beautiful. Reflective water surrounded by columns and levels of veranda wrapped in stone railing. In the flashing rave lights and pounding music it was more a display of hedonistic debauchery dressed up in the trappings of sophistication.

He cut through the crowd and made for the top tier of the veranda, signaling Mace and Cordon to keep Marco by the line of Rangeman security. Steph's nerves were starting to show. She knew they were heading for the arms dealer called Asimov. She hesitated when they saw a fine and polished silver-haired man in his fifties. Body looking fit in his expensive pale gray suit, white shirt and Italian loafers, his dark tan giving him a worldly appeal. Then Ranger gave the man a nod and brought her straight to a skinny dude in his mid-thirties.

Her confusion was understandable.

Dude had on an oversized Hawaiian shirt over a black T and board shorts. Lit up like Hunter and Marcus on first sight. Ranger's nephews weren't the only ones who thought he was a superhero. "Hey, man! Glad you could make it! I was stoked when I heard you were in town."

"I had some personal business to attend to."

"That's cool, man, that's cool. Hey, who's your foxy date? Is that bun in her oven yours?"

Ranger nodded. "This is my girlfriend, Stephanie," he said, amused at how adorably flummoxed she was. "Steph, meet Eddie Isaacson."

"Pleased to meet you," she said on autopilot, still trying to process. "So this is Asimov?" Cut a look over her shoulder to the distinguished gentleman. "I thought…"

Cute. She'd bought the Hollywood image. "That's his lawyer, Mr. Cutler."

"Yeah, and he is a _huge_ killjoy," Eddie added, attracting a glimpse from said killjoy. The man didn't correct him. "Anyways, what's up? You were sort of vague when you called."

Ranger was going to answer him, but Steph's curiosity got the better of her. "You're not going to explain about the name?"

That time Ranger grinned. Gave Eddie a nod of encouragement. Eddie just shrugged. "Branding."

That was helpful.

Ranger laughed. "I believe it's a reference to Isaac Asimov, the Russian biologist and science fiction writer."

"Yep," Eddie said. "Inside joke. Plus, it makes people take you seriously when you sound Russian." He turned his attention back to Ranger. "So…"

"I have a contact that would like to approach you about a business deal."

"Awe, man. You know I don't take walk-ins. Even when they've got references like you. This is a delicate business. I make one wrong move and I've got Feds crawling up my ass."

"I understand that. But these are extenuating circumstances."

Eddie considered that a moment. Cutting a glance at his lawyer. He looked back at Ranger. "Walk with me. This is starting to sound like a private office kind of conversation." Ranger nodded and started toward the house. Eddie stopped him. "Alone. No offense," he said to Steph. "I mean, I'm sure you're trustworthy and all, and I get that you're hugely pregnant, not to mention smokin' hot. It's just that I don't discuss business in front of people I don't know. You understand."

He could see that Steph wanted to argue that being his partner meant watching his back, but he also knew Eddie wouldn't budge on this. At least not without persuasion. He kissed her temple. "It's alright, Babe. I won't be long. Just keep an eye on Marco until I get back."

"Sure."

He gave her a _proud of you Babe_ smile and then followed Eddie into the house, Cutler right behind him.

ooo

Steph

Ranger disappeared into the house, leaving me standing pregnant and alone behind a wall of Rangeman muscle.

Awkward.

Marco was still watching me from the bottom of the stairs, between Mace and Cordon, eyeing me with a kind of attention that made me nervous with him looking entirely too dashing. Ranger had said Marco didn't do classy. Never said that he couldn't. A wolf in wolf's clothing.

I wandered toward him trying to project an air of confidence. An _I'm in charge of you mister so don't you dare misbehave_ kind of vibe. Not sure if I managed it, but at least I had his undivided attention. Jeez. "They're discussing it," I told him.

"I figured. The fact it wasn't an automatic no is in my favor."

"He trusts Ranger."

Marco nodded, but I picked up a subtle subtext like he thought people weren't necessarily all that bright for trusting Ranger. He scanned me again and I tried very hard to stare him down. The Manoso almost smile lifted one corner of his mouth. He cut his eyes around him. "You wanna dance?"

"Do I look like I want to dance? What I want is a crab puff and a cushy seat with a footstool."

The almost smile lost some of its wolf for genuine. "I'm down. Let's make it happen." Offered a hand. Thing Two shifted like he was going to make Marco regret making flirty eyes at the boss' girlfriend, but Marco pulled back, hands up in surrender. "Food table's right over there." He cut his eyes toward the house.

I rolled my eyes so he would know his charms wouldn't work on me, and then shot the Things an _I can handle this_ look. Marco offered his arm and that time I took it, letting him lead the way toward a happy tummy.

He waited until we were well into the crowd before he leaned into me. "So what's the deal with you and my brother anyway? I didn't catch sight of any rings."

"This morning you referred to the conception of my child as raw dogging a whore, and now you're asking if I'm your sister-in-law?"

He grimaced. "I shouldn'ta said that. I know it's not an excuse, but I was _very_ hungover and my brother has a special talent for getting on my every last nerve."

"You're right. That's not an excuse."

I spied the food table and made a go for it, but Marco steered me toward the open kitchen doors instead. Snatched up an entire tray of crab puffs and spun us around the busy staff and through a pair of French doors before we could be noticed. It was a den of sorts, or library slash sitting room. Big plush couches and lots of bookshelves. A casual writing desk against one wall. Marco nudged me toward the loveseat and put the tray on the coffee table, helping himself to a puff as he took the seat next to me.

"I don't think we're supposed to be in here," I told him.

"I know. That's what makes it fun." He stretched his arm out across the back of the seat, watching me. "So what's the deal?"

"You think you can buy information out of me with crab puffs?"

"I could find you caviar." He offered me a puff.

I eyed him before I took it. Popped it in my mouth and instantly lost some of my stern. "Oh my god. Food always tastes better when you're hungry, and these days I'm starving constantly."

Marco smiled, tracing a light touch across my bare shoulder. "So you and him. I'm guessing it's not exactly what he had with his first babymama, since he's actually here. Probably feels dutybound to see this one through. You _do_ know about his other kid."

"Yes," I said, staying purposefully vague.

He didn't know what to do with that. "Is he plying you with gifts and promises he doesn't intend to keep, or is this strictly an arrangement like last time?"

"You seem to think you know an awful lot about him."

"Sweetheart, we been brothers our whole lives. Pretty sure I know him better than you do. For example, I know the first girl he ever got to second base with was Leslie Cooper. Sweettalked her into a game of seven minutes in heaven at his twelfth birthday party. And his first time on third? Well that was Beth Sanchez. He took _her_ into her daddy's Pontiac and told her he loved her more than life itself."

"What's your point?

"That my brother's made a life of lies and half-truths when it comes to women. Hell, all things really. Fact there isn't a tan line on your finger tells me what kinds of promises he hasn't made good on."

"Is that so?"

"Yep. See, that's where he and I differ. If I had a girl like you, I wouldn't just have a ring on your finger, I'd be making a life." He lifted my left hand from between us and kissed my bare knuckle, his arm slipping around my shoulders to pull me into him. His touch gentle and slow. His looks and scent were so almost familiar it was mind bending. "My brother's nowhere near the sticking around type. He's not gonna drop off kids at kindergarten or go home with you to meet the folks. But I would."

"Oh boy."

"You doubt me, but I promise there isn't much I wouldn't do for a woman as beautiful as you."

He leaned in close to kiss me and I jerked back, shoving a crab puff into his mouth. "Really. I'm good."

I heard a laugh from behind us and turned to see Ranger and his two guys standing in the open doorway. His men looked like they were ready to thrash someone after finding the boss' brother and the boss' pregnant girlfriend secluded away in a cozy library, but not Ranger. Ranger looked like he might laugh his ass off any second. "I see you found a place to sit."

"We found some food too. Though now that I've had crab puffs I kind of want some of those little meatballs, and maybe some mini quiches."

"I think I saw cocktail weenies somewhere," Ranger offered, not bothering to hide his smile.

"Marco promised me caviar if I spilled my guts."

"I'll see what I can do." Ranger came around and took my hands, lifting me up with ease. Brushed a light kiss to my lips. "You have no idea how easy you got off this time," he said to Marco without dignifying him with a glance. "Don't expect to again. Stephanie's not the type to be messed with."

"Because you'd kick my ass?"

"No," he said, finally meeting his brother's pissy frown, "because she will. Stephanie might be thirty-eight weeks pregnant, but she's still a bounty hunter. Made a routine of taking down men twice her size with enough vicious brutality that they call her an animal and beg for mercy. Just last year she tangled with a knife wielding psychopath from the FBI's most wanted and ripped him a new one in a very literal way. With his own knife."

That got Marco's attention. He scanned me again, and this time it wasn't just to imagine what I'd look like naked. I tried really hard not to undermine the oversell by letting the squishy oogy feeling show.

Ranger wrapped an arm around my back and looked at me again. "Eddie's ready for us. You want Mace to get you a plate and meet us up there?"

"Definitely."

Ranger smiled. Lasted exactly until he looked at his brother. He cut a hard look toward the exit and Marco glared at him a moment. But eventually he obeyed.


	76. Chapter 76

AU of Plum Crazy

* * *

Chapter Seventy-Six

Marco

He never expected that everything in life would go as planned. Anybody that thought it would had to be a masochist. But he at least expected it to make sense most of the time. So far, nothing about Stephanie Plum was making sense.

Well, scratch that. Her turning him down made sense, she _was_ thirty-eight weeks pregnant. But Action's reaction to seeing him try had been anything but expected. They'd done this dance so many times he'd been shocked his brother'd left her alone with him in the first place without giving his men a kill order. Her having the authority to dismiss them was a shock too. And then when he'd heard Ranger coming and leaned in for that kiss, he thought for sure that would have redlined his brother and shown her his ugly side. Warn her well and good what she was getting into. Instead, Golden Boy had fuckin' laughed like she lit up his damn world. Pulled her to her feet with that tender kiss, his eyes only for her. It just didn't make any fucking sense. His brother was rage wrapped in cold calculation. Far as Marco knew, he didn't have tender feelings anymore.

He was going to have to backburn wrapping his head around her tangling with an FBI's most wanted. Picturing that while she was carrying his niece or nephew gave him anxiety.

The two of them held hands on the walk to wherever it was they were going, his patience at her pace saintly on the way up the stairs. One of his fridge-sized cage fighters caught up to them by the time they reached a second floor door, handing her a plate of goodies. Guy looked like he'd been recruited from the steroid division of MMA and he was playing fuckin' waiter. Just blew his god damn mind.

Ranger opened the door to a massive office and showed Stephanie in first, helping her into a big plush chair. The guy behind the desk watched a second, the young face and Hawaiian shirt at odds with the cool professional air. He was leaned back in his chair behind the desk, fingers steepled over his lap. The second the pregnant lady was settled, he turned his steely stare to Marco. So stone cold and in charge he could only be Asimov. "Ranger tells me you're interested in making a purchase."

"That's right."

"You have a list?"

Marco glanced at his judgy audience before he pulled the paper from his jacket pocket. The polished white-haired gentleman held out his hand for it. Wasn't going to allow him to approach. The gentleman passed the paper along and Asimov studied it long and thorough. "Tell me why you need me. Ranger said you had a seller lined up once before."

"I was supposed to, but they never showed."

"Names?"

Shit.

The dealer cut his eyes up from the paper. Cold as steel. "I come from a small world. You want me to get involved I need to know what I'm getting involved with."

"I didn't get names. I was just hired to be the go-between."

"But they were Russians."

"That's what I was told."

The dealer looked at the list again. Rolling his thoughts around in his head. "Who hired you?"

"Friends."

That got him another hard look. "Specifically?"

He tried really hard to figure a way around it, loathed at the idea of admitting his mistakes in front of his self-righteous prick of a brother. Realized he was already backed into a wall and sighed. "My girl ran with some people out of a bar in a little town east of Newark. Came to me with the proposition. I stand in and accept the shipment, I get a cut of the resale. Seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Until the girl caught a bullet."

Marco nodded.

"And you don't know who the end buyer was?"

Shook his head.

The dealer was quiet a moment. Cut a look to Ranger before he studied the list again. "There's some specific hardware on this list. Stuff that's not easy to find stateside. Could take some digging to run them down. You're just lucky I have so much respect for your brother. I never take on things like this. It's bad business."

"I appreciate it," trying like hell to keep the resentment to himself.

"You'll more than appreciate it. I'm only tapping in on this under one condition. This is Ranger's play. He knows how this is done, he knows the contacts, and he knows how to keep this shit from blowing back up the chain. That's essential. Especially with somebody dropping bodies. I need to be able to be unseen in this. As do you, in case you were wondering. How out there is your name?"

"Mostly people know my street name."

"Wildog."

"Yeah."

"And how many people know you as Manoso?"

"Not many."

"But some?"

"Hard to say."

Asimov cut his eyes to Ranger again and they shared a special look that wasn't hard to read. Made his blood simmer all over again. It was a look that said cutting Marco loose and letting him flap naked in the breeze wasn't an option. The kind of people who killed the messenger wouldn't hesitate to go after a man's family. Ranger might not give a fuck about his brother, but there was no way in hell he would let someone target their mother or sisters. He'd go to war first.

Asimov tossed Ranger a curt nod. "Okay. I'll see what I can do." He stood, tucking the list in his pocket. And then his posture relaxed, all the steel melting off. "Now that that's out of the way," he said, turning back to Ranger, "I'm dying to know more about this," gesturing between Ranger and his babymama. "It just still blows my braincells. Never pegged you for the settling down type. How'd this tango get started?"

Ranger didn't shift out of his Rangerness for Asimov. Not like he did for her. Only hint of non-hostility at the personal question was a crinkling at the corners of his eyes. "Stephanie and I worked together. She's bond enforcement."

The dealer grinned. "Bounty hunters in love? That's kinda awesome. That's a movie I'd watch. So you guys have been together a while?"

The question had been directed at Stephanie and she almost choked on her meatball. At least somebody still had a sense of the fact they were standing in the office of a massive arms dealer. "Sort of?" she said, cutely flustered. "We were friends a long time, and… well…. and then in Hawaii…"

"Yes," Ranger stepped in to save her. "We've been together a while."

He didn't just say it with that crinkle of amusement. His damn eyes were pulled to her like she had gravity. When their gaze met something sparked between them. Way deeper than private. If he'd seen it on anyone else, he'd have used words like affection, trust, love. But Action Hero had a way of locking down the little he did feel so it only leaked out when he was ready to snap. Marco was only just starting to realize that he may have completely underestimated this thing between them.

"Should we be expecting wedding bells?" the dealer asked.

And there went the shutters. Ranger was blank again when he turned back to the dealer, keeping those private thoughts to himself. The girl wasn't nearly as good at hiding. Her face said it wasn't something they made a habit of discussing. "Right now we're focused on our impending arrival," Ranger said, extending a hand. "I appreciate the assist."

The dealer shook it. "Of course, man. You sure you don't want to stay? Things get crazy fun when we start up the foam pit."

"Another time."

ooo

Ranger

Eddie tried to get them to stay for the rest of the party, but Ranger knew that wasn't a good idea. If they'd stayed Marco was bound to get drunk and telegraph to all involved that he was a loose cannon incapable of going with the program. Eddie'd been a hard sell already. Only heard Ranger out as a personal favor because of the close blood relation. No sense letting him know just how screwed up that relation was.

They arrived back at Rangeman in their separate cars and rode the elevator together back up to three. "You'll have to stay one more night in the holding cell, since I don't have any empty apartments and I don't really want you roaming my building unattended in the middle of the night."

"You don't trust me?"

"Do I have reason to?"

Marco didn't have an answer for that beyond the contemptuous glare.

Ranger got some satisfaction watching Mace and Cordon herd Marco away. Hit the button on his key fob and the elevator doors closed to take them to the penthouse. Steph clucked her tongue. "I'm seeing an unhealthy pattern of behavior here."

A hint of grin surfaced at her turning his own words against him. "Takes one to know one, Babe."

"Ever considered couples therapy?"

The grin won. He pulled an arm around her with a silent laugh and kissed her. "Might want to check your phone. I tried to call when Eddie consented to the audience, but it went straight to voicemail."

Steph opened her clutch and looked at it. Sure enough, it was dead. With all the excitement she'd forgotten to charge it. "Oops."

"That explains it."

"It gets worse. Morelli asked me to keep him updated when we found Marco and I don't know what to tell him. I don't think Marco was involved in Loopy's death, but I can't exactly explain an arms deal gone bad to a police detective."

"You know Morelli better than I do. Do you think reading him in will help or hurt?"

"Hard to say. He's not exactly a stranger to moral gray areas or rule bending, but I might feel bad putting him in this position. Morelli's a good cop. What if this forces him to choose between me and upholding the law?"

"Pretty sure that's a no contest, Babe. I don't see Morelli choosing much over you. Which means this question really comes down to one thing. How much do you trust him?"

She bit her lip, thinking hard. Maybe running through all the times Morelli'd broken the law for her in the past. Used to be involving Morelli had an added pressure because of her involvement with Ranger. Steph got squeamish over the rivalry. Didn't trust Morelli not to freak out over their overwhelming sexual tension. Now that she and Ranger were a permanent fixture, that was no longer an issue. The growing confidence in her eyes seemed to reflect that. "I think… yes. I trust him."

"Then make the call."

"It's late. This is probably something that'll go over better in person anyway."

"You're going to use the pregnancy cuteness to soften him up aren't you?"

She made an adorable shrug. "You work with what you've got."

God he loved her.

He let them into the penthouse and relieved her of her clutch, setting it on the sideboard with his keys and his gun. Leaned into her until her back was on the wall. Those sapphire eyes were as flirty as they were hungry, taking the scenic route down his custom tailored Armani suit. She liked that it was different from his suits in Trenton. Slight sheen to the soft fabric to reflect the luxurious tastes of a city fueled by heat and sex. He wanted nothing more than to whip her dress up and take her there against the wall, but with Stephanie half the fun was the anticipation. Always had been. And damn, had he waited long and hard for her.

Her hands touched his stomach, trying to decide whether to go up or down, and he leaned in to brush a kiss to her lips. She went with up. Touring his abs, chest, and shoulders inside his jacket as the kiss deepened, pushing into his sleeves until he shrugged it off. His mouth moved down her neck and she melted into the wall. His hands finding bare leg under the flowy golden skirt. Her arms went around his neck and held on for dear life when he reached her breasts, arching into him, ready and eager for him to scoop her up to carry her to their bed.

That's just what he did.

ooo

Steph

I wasn't in any hurry to wake up the next morning, my body extra relaxed, nestled skin to skin with Ranger. There were parts of being with Ranger that I'd gotten used to. It hardly ever scared me anymore to think about my future now that I knew for certain that he was in it, I'd even started getting comfortable with his past, and I'd come to love the security of knowing nothing as trivial as an argument over bread could possibly push us apart. But physically being with Ranger was still a thrill that never got old or boring no matter how often we made love. There was a raw power to his physicality, pure animal instinct just under the tender surface. Knowing each other's bodies this well only made the intimacy better. Like being a musician in a well rehearsed symphony.

Breakfast was on the table by the time we were out of the shower. A beautiful casserole made of fluffy eggs and potatoes and sausage served with sautéed vegetables. Ranger pulled my chair out for me and then settled into the seat beside me, looking over a stack of files that had come up with the silver breakfast tray while I dished out the food. "Is that Miami office paperwork?"

"Some of it, but this one is research to verify parts of Marco's story. I had Silvio and his team dig up everything they could on the bar Marco mentioned and the possible patrons that frequent it. Mostly motorcycle clubs and local hardasses. Nobody so far who has any obvious ties to the Russian mob, but the clientele is somewhat transient. And not great at sharing." Ranger poured me a glass of orange juice. "Might have to get creative once we get back to Jersey."

I helped myself to a piece of toast. "When is our flight?"

"We don't have a set departure time. I chartered another plane to avoid having to put names on a manifest. Should make it easier to bring Marco back without any red flags."

"And then?"

"Safe house until we get this figured out."

"Do you think he's going to go quietly?"

"He will if he knows what's good for him."

"So no."

Ranger smiled. "Since we don't have a set departure time, what would you think of visiting Julie before we leave?"

"I think that would be great." Then I thought it through. Cripes. "Do she and Rachel know…"

"Yes. I told them shortly after I told Tank and Ella."

"So you told your daughter and your ex-wife that you're having another baby, but you didn't tell your family?"

"Rachel and Julie occupy a special compartment in my life. They don't meddle or have expectations, and they know how to keep things to themselves. Julie's excited."

"And Rachel?" I asked, trying not to have feelings about it. I mean, I knew he'd never been in love with her, but she was still his first wife. She would always be his first wife. The idea of walking into the home of the woman who'd been married to Ranger made me feel like a pregnant mistress.

Ranger covered my hand with his. "Babe, you put yourself in the hands of an insane murdering kidnapper just to save her daughter, a girl you had no connection to except through me. As far as Rachel's concerned you're a superhero. As soon as she found out we were in town she pretty much insisted we come by."

"Really?"

"Yes." Brushed a curl behind my ear. "You don't ever have to feel inadequate because of Rachel, Steph. There's no contest. She has a level of affection for me for giving her Julie, and we have a friendship of sorts, but she could never have been to me what you are."

That filled me with enough warm glow to melt out some of my fears. They came back with a vengeance when we were walking hand in hand up Ron and Rachel's front walk in the upper middle class neighborhood, but the second Rachel opened the door and caught me up in an excited hug that verged on tears it all vanished. Seeing Julie again after meeting Ranger's family was a new experience. At thirteen, she was the spitting image of Celia, and way more mature than I would have ever been capable of at her age. And she wasn't just excited to see me and the belly. She was excited to see Ranger. I knew how much Ranger had regretted not being a part of her life all those years. Thought the emotional distance was better, safer, for both of them. But seeing them together made a little of the ache in my heart for him ease.

Maybe there was hope for them yet.

ooo

After visiting for about an hour, Ranger and I went back to Rangeman Miami to collect his brother, and then we headed to Miami International. A few hours of relative comfort in the air and we landed at the small airfield at Trenton Mercer where Tank was waiting to pick us up.

Tank is a big guy. Nearly seven feet of muscle and menace. He'd served with Ranger in Special Forces. He was the rock that watched Ranger's back. He has a softer side under the gruff exterior, at least where me and his cats are concerned, but there was no softness in his eyes when they settled on Ranger's brother. In fact, the little bit of emotion that did escaped his stone cold expression was hard enough to cut steal.

Boy, Ranger was right. Not a Marco fan.

Ranger opened the front passenger door for me and then angled into the driver's seat. Thankfully, it was only a ten minute drive to wherever we were going. Ranger pulled up to a narrow two story house at the edge of Ewing Township. It wasn't much to look at unless you knew what you were seeing. All the windows were blacked out and made of bullet resistant glass, with a high brick wall surrounding the front and back and low key cameras covering the entrances. Ranger hit a button on a remote and the gate opened.

Diaz was waiting by the door into the house beside another Rangeman fleet vehicle. I didn't know Diaz well. He was mostly quiet and kind of boring. Sometimes had the swing shift on the control room monitors at Rangeman. The only thing I knew about his personal life was that he used to be married to one of Ranger's cousins until she found somebody she liked better. Which meant Ranger was keeping the Marco watch to people who already knew him. Smart. He was less likely to be underestimated that way.

The Escalade was still a tense kind of quiet on the way back to Rangeman, but I could feel the way Tank had relaxed. He almost smiled at me when he got out of the car in the parking garage and headed inside. Ranger came around to open my door for me, offering me a hand. "I have some things to take care of this afternoon. Are you planning to hang out upstairs or are you going to your mother's house."

"I was thinking I might stop by the bonds office. See if anything exciting has happened. A nice mob hitman or serial killer could do wonders for slowing down my pace after Miami."

"Would it be too much to ask that you take one of my men with you? He can wait in the car if you prefer, but I'd be happier knowing you were covered until we get a handle on this."

"Okay. But on one condition."

"I'm dying to hear it."

"You have to tell me what happened between Marco and Tank."

"If I were you, I'd've gone with something sexier."

"Of course you would. Don't try and change the subject."

"Babe, that story's not going to be nearly as satisfying as other requests you could make."

"I still want to hear it."

I was amusing him again. "Marco got himself into some trouble a couple years ago and talked Tank into bailing him out like it was a favor to me. Ended up getting him involved neck deep with a shipment of stolen pharmaceuticals and a pissed off rival dealer. Tank was shot and then arrested."

"Omigod!"

"Yeah. He managed to use our connections to get the charges dropped, but he was out of rotation for nearly six weeks recuperating. Needless to say Tank doesn't trust Marco half as far as he could throw him."

"I imagine he could throw him pretty far."

Ranger smiled.

It didn't take long for Ranger to send someone down. The wall of man meat angled into my passenger seat without a word. I'd been living in the Rangeman building for the last six months, so I knew most of Ranger's guys by name, but with all of Ranger's new hires it was hard for me to keep track sometimes. I was pretty sure this one was named Steve. Or Roger. Or maybe Rodolpho.

I didn't think it would be polite to ask.

I drove to the bonds office and found Lula and Connie congregating around Connie's computer. They went brows up when they saw me. "See, I told you she didn't go into labor," Connie said. "Pay up."

"Well nuts." Lula dug into her purse and slapped some money into Connie's outstretched hand.

"You thought I would go into labor and not tell you?"

"We figured you might be busy pushing a human outta your hoo-ha. How's that comin' by the way? I bet Connie you'd be poppin' by Thursday."

"I can't believe you're making bets on when my baby will come."

Connie shrugged. "Everyone is making bets. I've got Friday in the Rangeman pool."

I was about to argue when the front door opened and closed again and Joe Morelli sauntered in. "Did you know there's a pool for when my baby is born?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I thought everybody knew that. I've got this coming Saturday. But right now I need a word with you. Outside."

Cripes. I was hoping I could work my way up to the aiding and abetting confession. "Can we talk in my car so I can sit down?"

"There's a side of beef in your car."

"He'll stand on the curb if I ask him to."

Morelli's headshake was frustrated, but he gestured to the door anyway and followed me out to my Mercedes. I signaled to Steve/Roger/Rodolpho and he got out to stand at parade rest next to the car. Morelli didn't want to wait for me to go around to the driver's side, and truth be told the driver's seat was pretty cramped these days anyway, so I took the passenger seat and he stood there outside it, hands on hips, trying not to look like he was about to read me my Miranda rights. "Congratulations on making it to Florida and back without a midflight birth."

"I don't know, it could have been kind of cool to put 'born in sky' on a passport."

"I thought we agreed that you would keep me updated."

"Didn't seem like a good idea to discuss it over the phone. Neither of our lines are secure."

"I think you've been with Ranger too long, you're starting to pick up his crazy. So is it safe to assume this means you've located your fugitive and are officially an accessory to murder?"

"Only if he's charged."

"You're giving me gray hairs here Plum."

"Are you sure the gray hairs aren't from the fact you're coming up on forty?"

Morelli shook his head at me, trying to hold back a grin. "Alright, smartass. So where is he?"

"Safe. He says he didn't do it."

"And you believe him?"

"Yes."

"That's it? Just yes? I can't say that fills me with a load of confidence."

"I'll tell you everything, but you have to promise not to yell."

"Now I'm dying to hear this."

Sigh. Suck up it Plum, it's now or never. "You know how Ranger's brother broke up with Loopy three months ago?"

"That's the rumor."

"Well, she came to him about a week ago and asked if he would be the middle man for an illegal transaction."

"What are we talking about? Pot? Opiates?"

"Does it matter?"

"Hell yes."

"Then it might have been guns."

"Not super surprising. He is a Manoso."

"Can you be serious please?"

"Cupcake that's the most serious thing I've said all year."

"Well long story short the sellers were a no show, which left Marco holding a big old wad of cash that wasn't his and no guns. He was trying to regroup when someone killed Loopy. He thinks it might have been the buyers as retaliation, or maybe to tie up loose ends. And before you ask, he doesn't have any names."

"I'm not seeing the part where you believe him."

"That part is in my gut. He's a jerk and a jackass, but I can't honestly believe that he'd do that to someone he cared about. He and Ranger might have a crappy relationship, but he's not a killer."

"Okay, and now here's the part where I tell you to turn him over and let the police handle it and you give me a really good reason why you're going to ignore me. Emphasis on the _really good_."

"Okay fine. But remember about the yelling."

"Steph."

"If we gave him to Moran do you think anyone would believe him?"

"Hell, I don't believe him."

"Exactly. If he's telling the truth and these people are ruthless enough to murder Loopy, they might do anything. Like pay someone to get into his holding cell. Or track down his family. That could mean going after Ranger's parents and sisters in Newark. Could mean coming after Ranger and me in Trenton. Either way that's not a chance we want to take."

"So Ranger's planning to take care of this one on his own?"

"He has contacts that'll help, but yeah."

"Didn't the last guy Ranger took care of end up in a shoebox?"

"Do you have another idea?"

"No, and that scares the shit out of me." He pulled in a long deep breath and sighed. "Should I be encouraged that you're being this open with me or should I be waiting for the other shoe to drop?"

"The open is because we trust you, but you should know I can't control other peoples' shoes."

"If Ranger helps his brother escape justice—"

"He won't."

Joe didn't seem entirely convinced of that, but he didn't fight me on it. "You know this was easier when it was just you and me. Protecting Ranger would be a lot harder. If they decide to haul him in there won't be much I could do to stop it."

"Ranger wouldn't let that happen."

"No shit. We've been here before and Ranger always stays one step ahead. Just... promise you'll be careful, okay?"

"I will."

He shook his head and leaned in, pecking a kiss to my forehead. Turned to the wall of man meat. "What's your name?"

"Duncan."

Boy I was way off.

"Well, Duncan. Keep her safe or Ranger won't be the only one looking to kick your ass. And so you know, she's way overdue for vehicular mayhem. I'd keep an eye out for falling meteors if I were you."


	77. Chapter 77

AU of Plum Crazy

* * *

Chapter Seventy-Seven

Lula and Connie made like they were busy as soon as I walked back into the bonds office, maybe pretending that they hadn't been watching me and Morelli through the front bay windows. I rolled my eyes at them. "Did anything interesting come in lately?"

"Depends how you define interesting," Connie said. She collected up the files from her desk and offered them up. "Normally I would send these to Ranger, but since you're here. These are all the no shows from court the last couple days. Three in all. Two of them are pretty low bonds, but one is worth serious money."

"That's what Vinnie's got his panties in a twist over?" Lula wanted to know.

Connie nodded. "The sooner that one's caught the better."

I took the files and slipped them into my bag with a promise to hand deliver them to Ranger. Then we sat around gossiping about how Joyce Barnhart's plastic surgeon botched the most recent boob job she got in an attempt to marry another geriatric goldmine, that is until he found out he was allergic and wanted her to get rid of her trained dogs. By noon I was sore from laughing and hopped up on sugar from too many donuts and I was ready to go home to Rangeman for a proper lunch and maybe a nice afternoon nap. I made all the right calls and found not only a delicious chicken stew waiting for me when I got home, but a delicious Cuban boyfriend too. He gave me a sweet, heated kiss as he slipped my bag off my shoulder and set it on the table. "How'd it go with Morelli?"

"About how you'd expect. He's not thrilled, but I think he's on board. He said it could get harder if he needs to protect you too."

"I don't need him to protect me, but I appreciate the fact he'd be willing to try." Pulled my seat for me. "I asked around about the motorcycle club Lupita was most often associated with. Apparently it's rolling through town the next couple days. I'm thinking we should head over there tomorrow night. See if we can learn anything useful."

"By head over there, you mean go to the biker bar."

"Yes."

"Do you really think they'll talk to us?"

"Odds will go up if we blend in. I'm having Ella pick out a few things for you to help our cover. She'll bring them up when they arrive."

"Oh great. More skin tight leather and booty pants."

Ranger grinned. "My favorite part of the job."

"Do you really think I'll be able to fit in at a biker bar? How many full term pregnant ladies do you expect to be in there?"

"Not many. It would also change our mode of entry. I'm not taking you on a motorcycle in this condition. I've got Tank finding us alternate transportation."

"If you think it would be safer I could always ask Morelli to go with you. He's not one of those cops who looks like a cop. Bar room brawling was a Morelli family tradition."

"True, but jurisdiction issues aside that would put me in the same boat as if I'd brought Tank or one of my men. They're not going to get me through the same doors that you will."

"Are you saying I soften your image?"

"Perfect mix of sweet and dangerous," he said as he leaned over me and brushed a lingering kiss to my lips. He smiled and angled into his seat. "How are Lula and Connie?"

"Great. Which reminds me. Connie gave me three files for you, but it sounds like only one of them is something you'll need to handle. They're in my bag."

Ranger ladled soup into our bowls before he flipped open my messenger bag and retrieved the files. Looked them over. "I think you're right. One arrested for marijuana possession, which Lula can catch on her own. They tend to be on the mellow side. Another was caught mail tampering. First time offender."

"Previous experience says that's the kind of skip that'll involve rolling in garbage."

His mouth quirked. "It's the third one that's problematic. Wally Fenetti stood up the court on first degree murder charges."

"Holy cats. Did you say Wally Fenetti?"

"Friend of yours?"

"Wally Fenetti is Walder The Whistler's kid. The Whistler was a minor celebrity in Trenton back in the day. He was famous for doing his own dirty work until the FBI moved in and he went down in a blaze of glory. Every kid who grew up in the Berg knows about The Whistler, he's a legend."

"What about his son?"

"That I couldn't tell you. He wasn't on any radars until the last couple of years."

"I heard he's been stepping on a lot of toes. Making waves that the establishment isn't very happy about. The murder charges he skipped out on involve one of Colichio's enforcers, but the street say he's hit a few of Delgado's too. So far law enforcement hasn't made any tangible connections."

"Jeez. He sounds really dangerous."

"He is. Which means the sooner I can get this one buttoned up the better. Would you be willing to tap on the Burg grapevine and see what shakes loose?"

"Sure. I could start with my grandma. Most of the mob guys are retirement age now. Grandma rubs shoulders with them at Bingo in the Senior Center. And as you'll remember she's been known to date the occasional geriatric hitman or serial murderer."

"Sounds like plan."

I got out my phone while Ranger cut into the loaf of fresh baked multigrain bread Ella had provided. He even buttered mine. Grandma answered my mother's house phone on the second ring. "Thank goodness you called. You have to get over here. Your sister is driving us batty."

"Why? What happened?"

"It's what hasn't happened. She's not due for another two weeks and she's mean as a snake over it."  
"Val doesn't get mean. She's the good one. Everyone called her St. Valerie."

"Yeah, well they never seen her nine months pregnant with a house. Your mother's been ironing since yesterday."

"What about Albert? Isn't he helping?"

"Albert took the girls to his mother's. I don't blame him for not hurrying back."

Jeez. Good thing my afternoon was clear. "Okay. I'll be over soon. I'm just having lunch with Ranger."

"Good! Tell him to come over for dinner tonight."

"That's not—" I tried to say, but she hung up on me.

Great. Now we were staying for dinner.

Well, at least it wasn't likely to be as crazy tonight, with Albert and the girls being at his mother's house. If I'd been facing the prospect of another night at the zoo I might have shot myself just to get out of it.

Ranger was watching me with an almost smile. Like I'd done a circus trick in formalwear. "They're expecting us at dinner tonight."

"Babe."

ooo

Grandma was waiting for me on the porch when I pulled up in the Mercedes sans Rangeman shadow. Ranger'd only just agreed that a trip to my mother's house wasn't likely to result in mayhem, at least not the kind one of his men could handle. But I had a sneaking suspicion there would be someone on my tale anyway for the couple of hours before he could get there.

My mother was in the midst of cooking dinner when I got inside, Valerie eating at the kitchen table, plate of leftovers smothered in gravy. We were due the same week, but she looked _way_ more pregnant than me. Her belly so swollen between her and the table that she looked angry at the distance. It was the kind of aura you tiptoe around and avoid making eye contact.

"Are you hungry?" Grandma asked me.

I watched Val shovel unidentifiable brown goop into her face. "Um… that's okay. I already had lunch with Ranger."

"That's just as well," Grandma told me in a whisper. "If she thought we might take some of her food I'm afraid your sister might get stabby."

A valid concern.

I waddled to a chair at the end of the table. "What do you know about Wally Fenetti?"

"The Whistler's boy? Not a lot. He was from the second marriage, right before Fenetti ended up whistling through all them extra holes, if you know what I mean."

"I don't suppose you know anybody who's talked to him recently."

That finally pulled my mother's attention away from the stove. "Why are you asking? This sounds like one of your bounty hunting things for your ratfink cousin. You're supposed to be on maternity leave."

"I am. Ranger's going to assign one of his men to handle it, he just asked me to information gather."

My mother eyed me like she thought I might be lying, but after a moment she turned back to her cooking. Maybe figuring there was no way Ranger wouldn't step in if I got it in my head to tackle a bad guy. "I went to school with his older sister, Mary. Just last week at mass she was telling me he's been getting up to all sort of shenanigans."

"Like what?"

My mother shrugged. She'd been trying harder to accept what I did for a living, but it still went against the grain of her proper Berg upbringing. Her eyes were on the wooden spoon she was pushing around in the red sauce. "I'm not one to gossip, but from what the ladies have been saying it might have sounded a little like he was trying to start up the old family business."

"Oh, I did hear something like that," Grandma put in. "Way the ladies down at bingo tell it he's been trying to reclaim some of The Whistler's old territory. In fact, didn't he get arrested a couple weeks back for murdering that man?"

I could see the way my mother's spine stiffened. She opened her mouth to object, but then thought better and closed it again.

"What does that mean, reclaiming territory?" I asked.

"The Whistler used to be into all kinds of stuff," Grandma said. "Stuff even the police didn't know about. Couldn't pin nothin' on him. Mostly it sounded like Wally was starting small, but if he's anything like his old man that might just be the surface."

That didn't sound good. I made a mental note to ask Morelli about it. He had family that dabbled in organized crime. They might not always tell him what's going on since he was a cop, but if Wally Fenetti was making moves there was a chance Morelli might have heard about it.

I heard the hum of Ranger's engine approaching right before six, the front door opening on the dot exactly. Ranger was almost supernaturally punctual. I'd been living with him for half a year now and I still didn't know how he did it. It was like his internal clock had alarms I couldn't hear.

Ranger's sharp eyes took in the room before he paused at my end of the kitchen table, laid a tantalizing kiss to my lips. Valarie had moved on to eating olives out of the little bowl Grandma had put on the table. She hadn't stopped eating once since I got there. I was starting to wonder what percentage of the baby was going to come out food. Ranger smiled and offered me a hand to help me to my feet so that we could move to the dining room. Helped Val with her chair too. When the pregnant ladies were settled, he went back for the roast pan and carried it from the kitchen to the dining room. This got some staring from everyone, myself included. I'd seen him set a breakfast table for his mother, but I'd never considered that he'd ever do something so domestic at my mother's house. The helpfulness from the alpha-ist of males had a lot of jaws open. The almost smile was threatening to surface when he realized we were staring. Ranger took his seat next to me.

No one dared to get in the way when Val dove in first. Even my father sat back. Like he was afraid he might lose a finger. My mother took a generous gulp of her iced tea and grimaced at the burn.

"Val's ready for this thing to pop," Grandma said to Ranger, like that would explain it.

Val rolled her eyes. A very un-Val-like thing to do. "I'm more than ready," she said around her mouthful. "If this kid doesn't come out soon I'm going to strangle someone."

"She'd start with Albert," Grandma said, to which Val nodded emphatically. "You oughta to try eating something spicy. I hear that can kick start labor."

"That doesn't work. You need to exercise," Mom said. "Go for a nice long walk."

I thought Val being able to walk from the couch to the refrigerator was optimistic, but I knew better than to say it. Judging from the hidden smile, Ranger was thinking it too.

"I've heard doctors say that sex can really get things moving," Grandma said. "What with the nipple stimulation and the semen enzymes and all that."

My father dropped his fork. "Jesus. I just lost my appetite."

"Mother, please. We have company. I'm sure Ranger doesn't want to hear about things like that."

"Like he doesn't know a thing or two already. He's no dummy. Besides. Stephanie's ready to go any day now herself. They should have all the facts."

Actually, Ranger and I had been having plenty of sex. If nipple stimulation and semen enzymes were that potent I'd have delivered already. "I'm okay. I'm willing to put off labor as long as possible. The baby can take his time."

"If he does there might still be time to make his arrival official by getting married," my mother said. "I could have Father Gabriel officiate. He said he'd come out anytime of day or night, even to the hospital."

"Mom, I'm not marrying Ranger while I'm in labor. That's just not going to happen."

"But it's not like your being married would disrupt anything. You're already living together, and as far as I've seen you never argue. You're wonderful together. If you just got married—"

"I don't want to get married like I'm signing paperwork at the DMV. If I'm going to marry Ranger I want to remember it. I don't want it to happen while I'm pushing a person out of my body."

Ranger cut his eyes my way, but I was too busy staring down my mother to read it. After a few seconds my mother relented and turned back to her pot roast. Ranger leaned into me. "Nice kill, tiger."

I didn't realize until he said it how satisfying it was.

Look out world. Stephanie Plum means business.

ooo

Ranger

Helen didn't bring up marriage again the rest of dinner, but he caught several furtive glances that had been tossed his way. Maybe trying to appeal to his moral center. He left her hanging. He'd warned from the beginning it wouldn't be a subject open to public debate. He'd meant that. Duty and social expectation didn't qualify as expectable factors in this equation. Not when there was so much more at stake.

He waited until Steph finished enjoying her third dessert before he suggested it was time for home. Offered the usual pleasantries to his girlfriend's family. He led her out to the Porsche Turbo, opening her door to help her lower into the seat. Didn't exactly go smooth. When he'd sent Duncan back to Rangeman in her car he thought he was simplifying things. Steph loved the Turbo after all. But helping her into the passenger seat was like trying to stuff her and a thousand yards of pink taffeta into it all over again. He was going to have to rethink what he drove for the foreseeable future.

He angled into his seat and set the engine purring, pulling away from the curb and toward home. Stephanie's atmosphere still mildly annoyed. "I told you she was going to hound us."

"It's a mom thing, Babe."

"Your mother didn't ask when we were getting married."

"My mom has different benchmarks for success where I'm concerned. And my sisters beat her to it."

Steph couldn't hide a smile if she tried. "I thought you said your family never pressured you."

"I said the pressure doesn't work on me, not that they've given up trying," he said, sliding her a look. "But feel free to tell me more about how you'd want to remember marrying me."

Steph rolled her eyes so hard her head tipped back into the seat. "I can't believe she thought I would be interested in Father Gabriel showing up to officiate at the hospital. Like I'd want to try and recite vows between Lamaze breathing. Who does that?"

Change of subject. Not entirely unexpected. "It's not unheard of."

"Don't tell me you're thinking about it."

"No Babe. I agree with you that it wouldn't be ideal to enter into a serious long term contract while under duress." Not to mention if he _was_ going to marry the love of his life he'd want her to remember it too. From the avoidance though he was guessing she wasn't quite ready to hear that. "I have to say I'm impressed by the way you stood your ground against your mother. You laid down the law like a wild west sheriff." He lifted her hand to his lips. "I told you you were the strongest most stubborn woman I know."

"Having met your family that's really saying something."

"Did you get anything on Fenetti from your grandmother?"

"She said Wally's been trying to reclaim The Whistlers old territory and start up the family business again. I got the name of Wally's sister from my mother, but I'm thinking the best place to start would be Morelli."

"Considering Fenetti was his collar that's a safe assumption. I'm in meetings all day tomorrow, but you could reach out to him without me. Or we could drop by his house on the way to the biker bar."

"Call me crazy, but I'm not really all that interested in explaining why I'll be dressed up like Pregnant Biker Barbie. I'll call him tomorrow and find out when he's free."


	78. Chapter 78

AU of Plum Crazy

* * *

Chapter Seventy-Eight

Steph

Ranger was gone already when I woke the next morning. From the empty feeling in the apartment I was guessing that had been a few hours. Sometimes I wondered if there was something to this getting up before dawn thing, but then I would think about what it would be like and settle happily into the fact that I would never be the kind of person who popped out of bed at five am. Anytime between seven thirty and eight was perfectly respectable as far as I was concerned.

I took care of the morning necessities and nibbled some breakfast, and then I called Morelli. "Yeah?"

"You sound distracted. Bad morning?"

"I got called out at 3am for a gang shooting, so it's more a bad night in transit. What's up?"

"I had some questions about Wally Fenetti and I was hoping you had the answers."

"Why the hell would you have anything to do with Fenetti, you're supposed to be on maternity leave."

"I'm asking for Ranger. He's been stuffing his schedule with meetings to get them out of the way for when the baby comes, so I said I'd see what I could dig up."

"Good, because for a second there I got a vision of you tackling Fenetti nine months pregnant and I about had a heart attack. Tell Ranger to tread lightly and have backup. We're only just scratching the surface on what Fenetti is up to. We got lucky on the murder charge because there was an eye witness he didn't know about. Most of the other shit tends to have people disappearing."

"Is it possible we could see the police reports?"

"The arrest reports are public record, Connie probably gave you those, but the case won't officially be closed until he's convicted."

"If you give me some inside information I'll buy you lunch."

"Are you bribing a police officer?"

"Depends if it works."

"It's tempting, but I'm swamped here. What about tonight? You could bring over a pizza."

"Can't. Ranger and I have plans tonight."

"Would those plans maybe relate to a certain person of interest?"

"Do you really want to know that or would you rather wait until we find something solid?"

"Christ. Let's just go with the second one. The first one might give me an ulcer. Ranger better know what he's doing."

"Pretty sure Ranger always knows what he was doing."

Might have heard some muttered Italian before I hung up.

I wasn't entirely sure what to do with the rest of my day. Normally when I had a day off or felt overwhelmed I would clean my apartment. That wasn't really an option living with Ranger. Ella took care of most of the day to day things I would have used as a distraction. The kitchen was spotless, laundry was folded and put away, and Rex's cage was fresh and smelled like cedar. All I had left was to sort through the baby things and make sure they were all in the right place. The penthouse apartment didn't have a second bedroom we could turn into a nursey, so Ranger had had to made due. We had a pretty cherrywood cradle by the bed, with a matching changing table dresser combination next to our giant walk-in closet. I wasn't sure what Ranger was planning to do when the baby got big enough to need his own room, but if I had to guess it was probably going to be in the realm of complete renovation.

Ranger didn't come home for lunch, but Ella did bring up a shopping bag midafternoon. I'll admit, I was nervous. Last time Ella picked out a badass bounty hunter costume for me it had consisted of a skintight leather vest and pants that showed my butt crack when I bent over. It had definitely looked the part, but had left me wishing she'd gone a size up.

I held my breath as soon as she was gone, then bit the bullet.

It looked like Ella had been shopping the same place as Loopy. The low rise boot cut jeans would be a snug fit with my expanded body, hanging just below the belly and accented with the studded black leather belt that matched the motorcycle boots. There was a black leather demi bustier in the bag too. Thankfully, this time there was also a tight low cut gray maternity shirt to go under it. No exposed midriff or butt crack for the pregnant lady. Hallelujah. Top it with the kickass leather riding jacket and what I had was the biker momma starter kit. All I needed were some tattoos.

I found them at the bottom of the bag.

It took some shimmying to get into the jeans. The rest was pretty easy. I had everything but the boots on by the time Ranger came home. He hadn't shaved, a day's worth of stubble showing along his jaw. So sexy. He looked me over, smile quirking. "I like it."

"Of course you like it. My boobs are showing."

"That's a perk too."

"Smartass. Where's your outfit? If I have to wear this you definitely don't get to wear the security guard look."

His mouth twitched again. "Where'd you put the tattoos?"

"I didn't. They were just the temporary kind. They wouldn't look realistic."

"Get them anyway."

I shrugged and followed him into the bathroom. He lifted me onto the edge of the counter and made himself at home between my parted knees, raising my sleeve enough to place the band around my bicep. He took his time applying a rose to my breast, kissing before he placed it. Then he kissed the other breast, just to keep things even. Pulled me flush against him to lift the back of my shirt and touch bare skin before he pressed the tramp stamp to me, caressing it with the warm wet cloth. I wasn't sure how authentic they would be, but the way he had my body's attention made it hard to care.

Ranger removed the backing and brushed a kiss to my lips. Moved back just enough to strip his shirt off, revealing every fine inch of his sculpted caramel mocha chest. I licked my lips and he smiled. "Your turn."

"You want me to take my shirt off?"

"Always, but in this case I meant the tattoos."

Oh.

He handed me the cloth and a temporary tattoo. Helped me apply it to his collar and up onto his neck. A beautiful abstract tribal design that felt very Cuban. He never stopped touching me while I worked. Light traces along my shoulders. The sensitive skin inside my elbows. Stronger strokes at my thighs. I put a matching one on his other side and a few on his forearms. Then he handed me a bottle labelled liquid skin. We took turns painting each other and by the time we were done not only was I super turned on, but the tattoos looked damn real. Which I'll admit turned me on even more.

From the way his eyes were dilated, I wasn't the only one.

Ranger brushed one last touch to the rose on my breast and then blew on it, cooling my skin in one place and blazing up the rest of me. I had to wrap my arms around his neck to keep from sliding onto the floor in the shape of a puddle. "Too bad these pants were so hard to get on," I said to him.

The grin was wicked. "I'm more than willing to help you back into them."

I thought about biting my lip.

Settled for biting his.

Ranger got my buckle open in a heartbeat, whipping the belt off in one strong tug. The button fly was next. Hand going down the front of my pant while I was still working on the button of his. It took some nudging and shimmying to get the jeans down, my exasperated sighs pulling a laugh from him that was pure sex. And then he was in me. Holding me as close as he could while he aimed for the spot that would spin the room away. The last thing I remembered was both my fists in his hair, and then I saw lights and colors and burst like an incandescent bulb. He was all around me when I came back to myself, his body a strong, powerful frame mine was draped on. He kissed me slow and thoughtful for a long moment. If I didn't know better, I might have thought he was purring. Might have been me.

"Want help back into those pant now, or do you need a minute?"

"A minute's good."

The laugh was soft and sensual as he scooped me up and carried me to the bed, setting me on the edge. Tipped me back for one last hungry kiss before he went back for my belt and jeans and set them on the bed on his way to the closet. "I'm not expecting any trouble, but I want you to be armed anyway. Just as a precaution."

"Not exactly a lot of places to put a gun in this outfit."

"I've got a baby Glock and holster for the small of your back. Should be small enough to go undetected. I've also got an ankle holster for your boot."

"Aww. You think I can reach my boots."

"Trust me Babe, if you needed the .38 you'd find a way."

"You really think there will be trouble?"

"No, but it's not a chance I'm willing to take. Not with you. Bringing you is risk enough."

I could hear the soft rustle of clothes, but I couldn't see him from my vantage point on the bed. All I knew was Ranger had walked into the closet.

And Marco walked out.

My brain warped for a second. No, not Marco. But it wasn't quite Ranger either. He was dressed just like Marco had been when we first found him in that bar. Day's worth of stubble. Black jeans hugging him from the thick black leather belt all the way down to his rough black boots. He had on a blood red Henley, the collar open and the sleeves pulled up to his elbows to show the tattoos on his arms and neck. Small gold hoops in his ears. Even his hair was different. Rough and disordered after the round of passionate and dirty lovemaking.

"Holy cats you look edible. If you were straddling a Harley right now you'd look like the lord of all biker gods."

"I'd settle for fitting in, but good to know the bad boy thing works so well for you. I'll definitely file that away for later."

"I hate to tell you this, but you've always reeked of bad boy. It's one of your defining features."

Ranger laughed softly. Kneeling to slip my feet back into the jeans. Offered me a hand and lifted me to my feet so he could tug the waist back up over my hips. "So the good girl is drawn to the bad boy?"

"I am not a good girl."

"Babe, I spent a lot of years waiting patiently for you to get comfortable enough with me to give into temptation. There's definitely some filthy sex goddess mixed in there, but the surface is good girl all the way." He buttoned my waistband and stuck his fingers in at my hip, a cold pressure sliding against my skin. I felt my brows go up. "Alligator knife," he said. Bent again to get my boots. I felt it when the .38 special found it's home. The last thing to go on was the thick leather belt, the petite holster pressing hard against my back. I grimaced. "Better safe than sorry, Babe."

ooo

Ranger

Under ideal circumstances they would have been rolling up to the biker bar on a pair of pristine black Harley Davidsons, but with Steph nine months pregnant that wasn't an option. Neither was taking something as attention grabbing as the near two hundred thousand dollar Porsche. Tank had specific lines for the cars that usually filled his fleet. Dealerships with excess inventory, federal impound yards. Even the occasional retired secret service vehicle. Took him a whole day to find the rusted out beat up old Chevy truck.

The sun was just setting when they pulled into the parking lot 70 miles later. Couple dozen bikes lined up by the front entrance. He picked out the pair of black Harley's he'd sent ahead with Cal and Dante, his two most tattooed hardass men. Cal had been a bartender and a street fighter before Ranger had brought him on full time, complete with flaming skull in the center of his forehead. Dante was new. Six foot three, kickboxer. Most of his tats were from his time in the Navy. They'd already be inside. Tucked away in the corners in case anything got out of hand.

Steph's spine stiffened the second she realized they'd arrived. "Relax Babe. Nobody in here will be looking to pick on a pregnant lady."

"What if I can't do the tough biker chick thing? What if I blow our cover?"

"You're gonna do fine. You've got good instincts. I've seen you in action enough to know you're good at this. And in case something does go sideways I do have men on site. Just as a precaution."

"Like the weapons."

Ranger nodded.

She wasn't in any way confident about that, but when he came around to her side of the truck he saw her tuck her nerves away. Putting on the character like she had a hundred times before. It always amazed him. If she could see herself when she was in stalking mode she'd never have doubts about her abilities again. He slung an arm around her neck and kissed the top of her head. Led her toward the building.

The place was dark and loud and smelled like steel and cheap booze. Crowded feeling despite being only half filled. There were a variety of patched leather jackets and bandanas, each denoting affiliation with one motorcycle club or another. Lots of thick builds and muscle. The air felt like a storm was coming. Like one wrong word or sideways glance could erupt in a barrage of broken bottles and thrashed tables all across the room at once.

Steph's shoulders ticked down a bit. Only sign she was uncomfortable. Leaned into him. "What are we looking for?"

He didn't break his search of the room. Spotted Cal and Dante by the pool tables, Dante playing casual lookout while Cal leaned over a table. Dante acknowledged his boss via eye contact and cut a look to the corner. Signifying their target. Ranger brushed the barest glance and went back to scanning the room. "Loopy was friendly with a club called the Bone Demons. Signified by a patch on their jackets. A pale, horned skull on black. We need to talk to the man in charge. Goes by Big Jim."

"You know what he looks like?"

"I've got a description. But you don't cold approach in a place like this."

"So what do we do?"

Ranger cut his eyes to her, a smile pulling at one corner of his mouth. She wasn't going to like the answer. It helped that they were already attracting attention. Most of the women in the bar were the same hard muscle as the men. None of them as hot as Steph and not one of them was pregnant. Shouldn't take much to turn that to their favor. Question was how to make a splash without turning the entire room against them.

He caught sight of the solution at the end of the high top bar.

Ranger sidled Steph up to the counter. Ordered Steph a bottled Coke and him a domestic beer. Got a couple sneers from the guys drinking lighter fluid straight from the bottle. The bartender gave them their drinks, his eyes drawn to the cretons approaching over Ranger's shoulder.

Ranger'd seen the contempt from across the room. There was a pair in every crowd. Assholes who stayed on the fringe of acceptance because they were just too dickish to be palatable. Like in a prison yard, they sought out the new meat. Potential rivals that might bump their standing. These guys would be a walk in the park. Didn't have to do anything more than look like Marco to attract their ire. Ranger saw the disgust confirmed on the bartenders face a second before the burlier of the two slid up to Ranger's side, black long sleeved shirt rolled up to show his beefy, tattoo covered forearms. Devil skull patch clearly displayed on his grungy vest. "I know you?"

"Doubt it." Ranger didn't bother looking at him. Took a casual sip from his beer. Rubbed the guy wrong.

"Yeah I do. You look like the asshole that was banging that Loopy chick."

"That asshole have a name?" he asked, hoping like hell he got back a street name.

Mountain man chucked his chin to where his buddy had approached on Steph's side. He was big too, with a fair amount of lean, hard muscles earned through hard work and hard living. He eyed Ranger thoroughly. "Yeah, he had a name. And he looked a shit load like you." His beady little too-close-together eyes dropped to Steph. "This knocked up piece of ass as crazy as the last one?"

Ranger cut his eyes up to the man, broadcasting full out warning. "It's not smart to disrespect my woman."

"Oh yeah? What are you gonna do about it?"

Ranger swept a kick behind Steph and knocked the guy's leg from under him, throwing his face into the bar before anyone could register he'd moved. Guy fell back and slumped in a lump onto the floor, drawing a long moment of silence from the entire bar.

Then as he'd hoped, the room broke out in laughter.

There was some catcalling when Beady Eyes stumbled to his feet. Mountain man wasn't happy. He snatched at the front of Ranger's jacket to punch him in the face. Shocked when he found himself pinned face down on the bar. Beady Eyes rushed Ranger's back and Steph flinched, snatching up his beer bottle to extend her reach. Smashed him right between his beady eyes. The dismayed gasp said the she hadn't done that much damage on purpose. She'd just wanted to keep him away from the baby. She'd always been way more animal instinct than she wanted to admit. All but the creak of a tree falling in the woods accompanied Beady Eyes' crash to the floor.

Ranger didn't have to look to know when Big Jim approached. The gravity said it all. Especially when Steph whipped around to face him, broken beer bottle raised. He put his hands up in surrender, along with a step back. He was amused, but he wasn't stupid. "You got guts, I'll give you that."

Ranger kept hold of the struggling mountain when he turned to face the new guy. A sign of dominance that said he wouldn't be fucked with. Went a long way with Big Jim. The tension rang between them. Cool and assessing. The biker wore a light smile behind the thick dark brown beard. His head covered in a tied bandana. He was wearing a Bone Demons patch too, but unlike the cretons there was intelligence in his dark brown eyes. Not a man to take lightly.

He looked Steph over too, a light sparking in his eyes at the sight of the round belly. Turned his attention back to Ranger. "You're related to Lupita's boyfriend, right?" Ranger didn't say anything. The biker took that as an answer anyway. "People are looking for him."

"Why do you think I'm here?"

Big Jim considered that. After a moment, he nodded. Tossed an inviting head gesture toward the corner of the bar he'd come from. Ranger banged his captive's head on the countertop. Shoved him aside and casually sidestepped him. Took the broken bottle from Steph's clenched fist and set it on the bar, sling his arm around her again. That was unfortunate. He might have needed that bottle.

Dozens of people were scattered around Jim's corner. Jim took his seat at the obvious head, his back to a wall. Ranger took the chair opposite him. His back to the other. He tugged Steph down onto his lap and pulled her close, nesting her into his body. "I take it you're Big Jim."

"You'd take that right."

"And your guard dogs?"

"Stretch and Tiny. Though I wouldn't call'em guard dogs. They're more the dumb fucks we let trail behind us because they're occasionally good for a laugh. But I'm guessing Manoso told you that."

Shit. So their name was out there. "The bartender did. Anybody gets that kinda shade must not be all that popular." He let Steph's clear blue gaze draw his eyes, a tender hand on her belly. "Nobody disrespects my woman."

"I saw." Big Jim tossed Ranger a clean bandana. "Gotta say. That was kinda hot. Been a long time since I seen a woman bust a face like that, let alone a mother-to-be. Gives a new twist to the term mama bear."

"It's a gift," Ranger told him, dipping the cloth in a shot glass before he wiped her hand clean. Tossed it on the table. "Am I right to guess you know what kind of shit my brother's gotten himself into?"

"Maybe."

"Feel like sharing?"

"Don't know. What's in it for me?"

"I figured the fulfillment of his orders would be enough."

"'Cept that shit ain't for me."

"Who's it for then?"

Big Jim smiled again. Like a crocodile. "You want my cooperation you're gonna have to give me some kind of incentive."

"You have something specific in mind?"

The crocodile grin spread. "A night with your woman?"

He hadn't been serious, but Steph scoffed anyway, rolling her eyes so big she probably saw the inside of her own head. Big Jim let out a throaty laugh. "I like her. She's got spunk."

"What do you really want?" Ranger asked him.

Big Jim considered that. Picked up one shot glass. Then another. Lining up three of them in a neat little row. "Hard to say." He took a bottle of Everclear from the edge of the table and filled each one to the top. "Way I see it, your brother's in a tough spot. Pissed off the wrong people."

"He says his suppliers never showed."

"Why the fuck wouldn't they show?"

"You tell me."

Big Jim shrugged. "That would be information far outside of my purview. Last I checked, they were eager for the business. My guess would be that brother of yours fucked up in some way."

"That why Lupita Ortiz wound up dead?"

Big Jim paused, a shot halfway to his lips.

Steph softened. "You didn't know."

"It's true?" he asked her. She nodded. "Shit. I told her to stay out of it. I told her there was a reason I passed, but that girl ain't never listened to nobody in her life."

"You know who killed her?"

"You mean aside from your man's useless brother for fucking up the easiest weapons trade in the history of the business? Dolohov was so eager to unload he'd offered a discount. Wildog woulda made mint. So you tell me. What the fuck did your brother do?" he said, swinging his eyes back to Ranger.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out. I don't see Dolohov doing Loopy. That just leaves the buyer."

"Or your brother."

Ranger held his eyes, showing him no answer. Didn't want to let slip his own damn doubts.

Big Jim shook his head. Shoved the remaining shots toward them. "Pay the piper and I'll tell you what you want to know."

"I don't do games."

"Drink. Or this gets real ugly real fast."

His people were hovering around them. Turkey vultures waiting for a signal. Even with Cal and Dante nearby he couldn't guarantee a blood free win against that many, and a fight would effectively lock down any chance of getting further information out of them. Damnit. He was really wishing Steph hadn't smashed his beer bottle. Could have used it as a chaser and spit the shot inside.

He kept his body deliberately relaxed when he leaned forward. Lifted the glass to his lips and tipped it back. Tamped down his will to hide the burn. Kept Jim's eye as he set the shot glass on it's head to show it was empty.

Jim didn't look appeased. "Hers too."

Steph bristled, but Big Jim didn't intend to make the pregnant lady drink. He was still staring at Ranger. Fuck. Ranger knocked that one back too and smacked the glass down hard, glaring. "Now talk."

That time Big Jim eased back in his chair. Clearly satisfied. "I only ever talked to the buyer's front man. Guy called Dominick. One of the many reasons I didn't want the job in the first place."

"You know what he wanted an arsenal that big for?"

"To go to war with someone is my guess. Didn't ask too many questions. Didn't want to know."

"You got a way to contact him?"

Big Jim nodded. Thumbed through his phone a second before he flashed them the contact screen. Ranger snapped a photo of it with his own. "What do you know about Dominick?"

"I can tell you he didn't seem the front man type. If I had to guess it was probably a recent promotion."

"And you don't have any inkling about the buyer?"

Big Jim shook his head.

Steph cut Ranger a look when he got quiet. Asked a bunch of questions of her own. Ranger read the room when it was time to go. Nudged Steph up and kept his eyes on Jim until he'd moved her away, leading her out of the bar with a heavy arm around her shoulders. He managed to keep his shit together all the way to the truck. Handed Stephanie the keys. "You're gonna have to drive home, Babe."

"Oh boy. I was worried when you did that second shot. Are you feeling buzzed?"

"I'm way more than buzzed, Steph. I'm so trashed we'll be lucky if I make it into the car."


	79. Chapter 79

AU of Plum Crazy

* * *

Chapter Seventy-Nine

Steph

Watching Ranger knock back shots had been weird for me. I'd seen him order them before when he wanted to blend in. I'd never seen him drink them. Not even in the privacy of our own home. Before I got pregnant, the most he had around was beer and the occasional bottle of wine. Rarely even finished a glass. Ranger didn't do out of control. I had zero frame of reference for what would happen to him under the influence of two shots of Everclear.

He'd said he was trashed, but his body wasn't showing it. He wasn't uncoordinated or stumbling, and I didn't have to carry him thank god. I did walk him to the passenger side of the truck. I opened his door and was suddenly plastered to him, his back on the side of the truck, his hand squeezing my ass. It was a really great kiss. One that made me forget we were standing in a parking lot outside a biker bar, likely with a crowd of harecore bikers watching. I tried not to get flustered. "Just get in the truck, mister."

Ranger smirked and angled in, not looking one inch intoxicated. I waddled around to the driver's seat and hoisted myself up. Put the truck in gear and pulled out of the lot for home. Ranger's head leaned back against the seat when we hit the main road, closed eyes facing the ceiling.

Total silence.

It dragged out a long time. To the point I wondered if he'd fallen asleep. And then Ranger spoke. Distant. Like he was thinking out loud. "I don't have a problem with the institution."

Oh boy. Maybe he _was_ trashed. "What institution?"

"Marriage. It's admirable. Enviable even, on the right people."

"Just not you."

"I wouldn't say that."

My brows shot up on their own, along with a swallow. Jeez. I wasn't ready for that. Ranger wasn't a frank admission kind of man. He wore silence like a shield and kept his own counsel. Even his friendship with Tank seemed to be based more on loyalty and mutual respect for emotional distance than closeness. I didn't know what to do with a candid Ranger.

His eyes opened, tipping my way. Studying me in the long pause. "You ever think about marrying me?"

Jeez. Just put it all out there why don't you. "Do you think about marrying me?"

"Every day. But I asked first."

I didn't know what to say to that. I was completely out of my depth. "It's not something we've ever really discussed."

"Because I thought you'd freak out," he said, turning back to the ceiling. "Rather have some of you than none of you."

"Are you saying you've thought about asking me to marry you but didn't because you thought I wasn't ready?"

"Are you?" he murmured to the ceiling.

That was the million dollar question. Was I? I was afraid of commitment for a long time when I was with Morelli. We both liked the idea of it. I liked knowing it was something on the end of the table that I could work my way toward wanting. But we'd never really lined up on the subject. Morelli had only wanted to marry me on even days of the month and I only wanted him on odd. But Ranger. What if he did want me every day? What would I even do with that. "When we discussed labels at the beginning… you agreed to girlfriend but when I asked about fiancée or wife you told me not to push it."

"Gotta walk before you can run."

"But you're open to discussing it now?"

He was quiet a full minute. Might have passed out if he wasn't so Zen still. Kind of a relaxed tension. I got the impression he was deep in thought. "Fuck I'm lit," he finally murmured.

I seconded that. "Do you need me to pull over?"

"No. Just can't keep one train of thought. I keep wondering what would happen if my fucking brother really did do Loopy."

"He didn't." The eyes opened and slid my way again. "I know I don't know him as well as you do. In this case that might be a good thing. He's an ass and a troublemaker, but he doesn't have any motive. If he was trying to cut her out of their payday he wouldn't have done it before delivery, and if he wanted to run with the money he already had he wouldn't be trying so hard to finish the deal."

I didn't look away from the road, but I could feel his focus. "It's fuckin' hot you're so smart."

"I'm not as smart as you are."

"You're smarter. I learned the world the hard way. Saw too much. Did too much. I been places you never been. And I'm patient. But you. You're a natural. You ask the right questions and see the right answers. Even if you do stupid shit sometimes."

"Um. Thankyou?"

"Babe. I'm supposed to know better and I still do stupid shit."

"Like marriage or pregnancy?"

"Yep."

"I'm starting to feel really great about this conversation."

Smiled. "Out of curiosity," he said, even more distant. "If we were to discuss the label fiancée, what kinda incubation time would you see that having?"

"What?"

"Babe, relax. I'm not asking. Just wondering where the ballpark is."

"But… marriage isn't in your life plan."

"Neither were you."

I was amusing him. I could tell.

"Steph. It's not like I've never thought of asking before. I was just wondering, for future reference, what you thought was appropriate. Days. Months. Years."

"It would depend."

"On?"

"I don't know. You could always ask and find out."

That earned me a smile. He turned back to the ceiling, eyes closed again. This time his breathing turned slow and even.

He was out.

ooo

Tank

Steph had called when the signal from her purse was just a couple minutes out. Said she needed his assistance in the parking garage. He was standing hands on hips next the empty spot they'd cleared in Ranger's row when she pulled in. She was driving. Ranger laid back in the passenger seat. Not bleeding that he could see. No bruises. If he didn't know better he'd have guessed passed out. "What the fuck?"

Stephanie angled out of the truck with a guilty face. "He might have had too much to drink," she said.

Tank tried to temper the hard look. "Define too much."

"Two shots of Everclear?"

"Shit." Of all the fucked up things he could do to himself. "I'm guessing he had a good reason."

"Big Jim insisted. He wouldn't give us information unless we each did a shot, and I'm pregnant so he made Ranger do both."

Tank shook his head. Wrenched Ranger's door open, groan of metal and a spray of rust. Ranger was passed out alright. Looking so much like his piece of shit brother in the ratty blood red shirt and tight black jeans that Tank was having trouble feeling the affection. Fuck. "Ten years of sobriety down the tubes."

Steph turned whiter. "Ten years?!"

Tank shrugged his arm under Ranger. "Give or take. Not like anybody's keeping official count."

"But I've seen him drink!"

"Ever see him have more than one?" Tank scooped Ranger out of the truck and set him on his feet. Cut his eyes to her when she didn't say anything. "Look, it's not my place to tell stories. Could be this doesn't count, since he did it for family. But you should know it's been a long time and he's gonna hate himself in the morning."

"You've been through this before?"

"Few times."

"What should I do?"

Tank half carried Ranger into the elevator, shouldering his partner and oldest friend as he turned to face the woman said friend was starting a life with. Hit the button on the elevator to send them up to the penthouse. "Just make sure he doesn't shove his head entirely up his ass."

ooo

Steph

I ducked under Ranger's other arm when the elevator opened on seven and helped Tank carry him into the apartment. I got a feeling from how little he weighed that Tank wasn't letting me do any actual lifting, but he didn't chase me away from helping either. Together we lugged Ranger into the bedroom and slumped him off onto the bed, his body spread eagle across the mattress. "You need help getting him in bed?"

"I think I can manage."

"I'll be on five if you change your mind."

"Thanks."

Tank nodded. I walked him back to the front door and locked it behind him. Turned back to my bedroom. I took a good long look at my boyfriend sprawled out drunk on the bed. He didn't look quite the mess that most people would. He was peaceful. Way more relaxed than I'd ever seen him, even in sleep. Like the weight of the world had been temporarily lifted off his shoulders. I picked up one of his feet where it dangled off the end of the bed and pulled off his motorcycle boot. Then the other. I climbed onto the bed to have leverage enough to lift his body and pull his shirt off. Surprised when his hands touched my sides. In half a second I was on my back, him leaning half over me, eyes hooded and unfocused. "I love you."

"I know. I love you too. But you're very drunk."

"I can do a lot of things drunk," he said, nuzzling my neck in a very nice way.

I had no doubt he could manage a _lot_ of things. It would all be muscle memory, but Ranger's muscles had a very impressive library. "I can't even get your shirt off."

Ranger reached behind him and tugged on the back of his shirt. Only got it off over his head and one shoulder. Enough to reveal all the tattoos I'd applied to his body. His face dropped into my neck and I considered the moral dilemma of taking advantage of your own boyfriend. Until I felt the weight and realized he'd passed out again.

I rolled Ranger onto his back and undid his pants, inching them off. Covered him with the duvet. I watched him sleep for a minute before I changed into one of my nightshirts and climbed in next to him. Flicked off the light.

Jeez. I hoped Tank was just being a worry wart. I wasn't sure I was the most qualified person to keep someone's head out of their own ass.

ooo

Ranger

He didn't know what time it was. Just that Steph was nested against his side, her belly holding him down. Along with the sensation of a 200lbs lead suit. Christ. As if he needed another reason to not drink. He'd regretted that particular choice before he'd touched the first shot. Would have rather gone ten rounds with the entire crew than take the second. Not that that had been a choice. His brother was a constant reminder of every shitty thing he ever used to be, but he was still family. Hard not to do right by family.

He looked down at the sweet, clever, beautiful woman he loved, face pressed to his tattooed chest under the messy tangle of curls.

 _Want_ to do right by family at least. He hadn't done right by Stephanie last night. He'd worked hard over the years to be the kind of man she needed. One who could protect her not only from the world but from himself. And he'd gone and downed two topped off shots of the strongest legal liquor known to man. Ninety-five percent pure alcohol. Strong as moonshine. Even when he was drinking heavy through high school and college and those first couple years in the Army he never messed with Everclear. And last night he'd done it with Stephanie right there on his lap. Like a selfish dumbfuck moron.

Anything could have happened.

He thought about easing out from under her to lick his pride in private, but just thinking it twitched the muscle she was using as a pillow, a soft inhale predicting the peeping eyes. Those sweet clear halos fixed on his, trying to dig inside his head. "How are you feeling?"

"I don't remember hangovers hurting this much."

"It's because you're over thirty. Everything gets worse over thirty."

"Not everything," he said, rounding a hand over her ass. He was hoping it would distract her, but from the look of her she wasn't buying an inch of it. "We got home safe," he observed. No thanks to him.

Stephanie clouded. "You say that like you're surprised."

"Only in the I don't remember what happened after Big Jim kind of way."

And there went the grimace. The not fun version of her Oh boy face. "Nothing?"

"Nada."

"Not even the drive home?"

"That is what nada means."

The face didn't clear. Made him feel he was coming down a flight of stairs and missed a step. "What did I do?"

"Nothing," she said too fast.

"Stephanie."

"You didn't do anything aside from hand me the keys, I swear."

He noticed that she'd slipped emphasis onto _do_. He might not have acted physically, but he'd done something.

She didn't give him a chance to start guessing. "I'm really surprised you were that affected after just two shots."

"Body mass only goes so far. I don't have the kind of tolerance I used to."

Bit her lip. Something she didn't want to say. He waited her out and she pulled in a breath to be brave. "Tank said you were ten years sober."

"Remind me to thank Tank for that when I'm not hungover on battery acid."

"It wasn't his fault."

No. It was Ranger's. His fucked up choices. His self-punishment. Tank had only ever been there to have his back. Thick and thin. Right or wrong. No matter how fucking wrong Ranger was. "What else did he tell you?"

"He said it wasn't his place to tell stories."

Well that explained why she was still looking him in the eye. "Sober is the wrong word. It's not about addiction. I've done just about everything there is to do, but none of it was habit aside from the cigarettes I started smoking at eleven." Her eyebrows shot up. Reminder that she was still 90% good girl. "I had a lot of demons growing up. Some of the self-abuse was escapism. Some of it was to blow off steam." And he'd had a fucking shitload of steam to blow off.

Steph covered his heart. So tender he almost chickened out. Covered her hand with his while she'd let him. "Morelli's not the only one who used to brawl in bars. Tank had to drag me out of almost as many as I have my brother."

"What changed?"

Shit, suddenly he would have preferred another knife to the gut. "I'd gotten a message from Rachel. She was getting married again. I'd met Ron. Figured it was coming. They've always been good together, and she deserved to be happy. And then she said Ron wanted to adopt Julie. Wanted them to be an official family. Wanted to be the man Julie called Daddy." Their eyes held. He could see sadness in hers. Fought like hell to keep the shame out of his. "I got blind stinking drunk the night I signed the papers. Giving up my parental rights. Woke up in a holding cell with Tank next to me and had to be told I'd almost killed a guy."

"Omigod," she gasped, hand jumping to her mouth. Left the skin over his heart feeling cold. "What happened?" she breathed through her fingers.

"Our commanding officer came and bailed us out."

"And the guy?"

"Stitches and a couple days in hospital."

"And I'm guessing you never drank again."

"It wasn't about the drinking, Steph. It was about control. And the fact I can't be trusted when I don't have any."

"That's not true."

"Says the women who swallowed when I asked what I did wrong last night."

"You didn't do anything wrong."

"If I said something that hurt you—"

"You asked if I ever thought about marrying you," she blurted out.

Not the answer he was expecting. "I asked you to marry me?"

"More you asked what I would think about it if you asked me to marry you."

"And?"

More lip biting. "And what?"

"You're answer."

"I didn't really give one. You sort of passed out."

"You could answer now."

She was turning chicken again. "I'm not even entirely sure what the question was. There was talk of labels, and thoughts, and incubation times. With you that out of it it was hard to tell if you were serious."

Story of his life. The one time he did something non-destructive while drunk and she dismisses it because he was drunk. Then again, trying to talk marriage with Stephanie Plum might just qualify as destructive. "Did I sound serious?"

"You sounded… distracted."

"By?"

"Marco and Loopy."

And there's the subject change. Should have known better. Just have to add that to the growing list of things he should know better. He flexed his body to test his abilities. Yep. It was still there. Hadn't been replaced in the night by a giant lump of ache. That was just his soul. "I should get to work."

Steph sat up when he angled from under her. "You're going to go to work hungover? Is that a good idea?"

"Not like I'm gonna get fired."

"You could call in sick."

He could. But that would prolong this agony even more than subjecting his head to the bright lights and sounds of his men. "I'll manage." He ambled into the bathroom with as much dignity as he could. Heard it when Steph made an uncoordinated scuttle off the bed to follow him. Watched him brush his teeth a minute.

"Are you mad?"

He spit and rinsed his brush. "Not at you."

"But you're mad at yourself?"

It was one of those obvious questions that didn't need an answer. She followed him to the closet and fretted outside it while he threw on some clothes.

"You don't want to talk about it, but that doesn't mean you have to go."

"If I don't I might run my mouth even more and then we'll both regret it."

"Maybe not," she said. Still standing outside. As afraid to face him as he was to face her.

He fastened his belt and lowered to reach his gun safe. Tapped in the code. Literally the only thing in the entire building she didn't have access to. By her choice, not his. He reached in and wrapped around the holster of his Glock. Fingers brushing velvet. Closed his eyes.

Selfish, arrogant, reckless ass.

Stood.

Leaving the gun safe door slightly ajar.

"You want to know if I was serious," he said, fitting the gun to his belt on his walk to the door without the fucking courage for eye contact. "Look in the back of the safe."

And then he walked out.

ooo

Steph

Watching him go made me feel powerless. Like I was supposed to stop him. Or go after him. Or something. But it was hard to be with a man like Ranger and not have the instinct to let him have his space.

I looked to the closet. Shifting on my feet enough to see in.

Ranger's gun safe was hanging open.

I was on my toes, trying to decide if going in was the smart thing to do. Pulled in a deep breath to calm my nerves. After a minute the pressure got the better of me. Flicked on the lights. Kneeling in front of the heavy black metal box.

There were a few guns in there, set into a metal stand. Some papers and a stack of passports, aliases maybe, and a stack of cash. But the rest of the safe was in shadow. I held my breath and reached in. Brushing my fingers around the back wall the same way I would search a cobra's den.

Touched velvet.

Somehow I knew what it was before I'd closed my hand around it. Brought the familiar looking black box out into the light. I eased the lid open and was met with the sparkle of a breathtaking three carat diamond surrounded by smaller stones. All set into the intricately carved band that matched the black one he'd worn when we played at husband and wife in Hawaii. When the feelings had gotten so real we'd forgotten all barriers and pretense of actual reality and we'd conceived a child.

My ring.

He'd kept it.

Then his words sunk in.

… _want to know if I was serious…_

 _…_ _ever think about marrying me…_

 _…_ _every day…_

I could only stare at the ring for the longest time. So speechless I could feel tears.

He'd actually kept it.


	80. Chapter 80

AU of Plum Crazy

* * *

Chapter Eighty

My brain was going a mile a minute on the elevator ride down to the parking garage. I was way too chickenshit to stop on five, even if Ranger had wanted me to. What I needed was to decompress. Get some perspective. Autopilot took me to the bonds office.

Lula and Connie both looked up in unison when I opened the door. "Still hasn't popped yet!" Lula said. "I'm feelin' lucky. How about you talk that baby into coming tomorrow."

"That's not how babies work," Connie said to her.

"Well you never know! Could be one of them premonition things. Stephanie's bound to have all kinda instincts now that she's a mom."

Connie paused when she got a good look at me. "Uh-oh. What happened?"

I wouldn't have known how to say it even if I knew where my voice was.

Connie leaned back and pounded on Vinnie's office door with her open palm. "Lula and I are going to lunch!"

The office door opened, my degenerate weasel cousin showing in the sliver. "You're what? Who's gonna watch the office and answer phones?"

"Well that'd be you."

"If I have to do it what am I paying you for?"

"One of life's mysteries," Connie said, picking up her purse. "If your bookie or the three guys you owe money to show up while I'm gone tell them I said hi." Then she sashayed out the door behind me and Lula. Vinnie's face said panic before the door slammed shut again. "He'll be fine," she said to me with a dismissive wave. "Sometimes he needs a reminder that I do more than answer phones. Now what's up?"

"Hard to say, I'm still processing."

"Is this subs at Pino's processing or full on retail therapy processing?"

"Might be the second one."

"Oh good," Lula said. "I been needin' to get me some new shoes. I run these ones off chasing down bad guys. And I hear walking's real good for pregnant ladies. Might get your mojo movin' so you'll be ready for the big event tomorrow."

Connie rolled her eyes and we all got into my Mercedes.

The crowds at Quakerbridge Mall were pretty light for a Wednesday afternoon. I lucked into a spot right up front. I caught a glimpse of the Rangeman vehicle that parked on the next row, but Dante didn't approach. He kept a respectful distance.

We started in the food court and moved our way toward shoes. After two corndogs I was in a much healthier frame of mind. Lula gave the Via Spiggas a serious looking over and Connie and I found a pair of nearby chairs. "Now spill."

"Ranger and I had a _talk_ last night."

Penciled eyebrow raised. "What kind of talk?"

"The kind that might have involved a broaching on the subject of long term commitment."

There went the second brow. "You brought up marriage with Ranger?"

"That's the thing. It wasn't me. Long story short, we went undercover last night and Ranger ended up intoxicated and when I was driving us home he asked if I ever thought about marrying him. When he woke up this morning he didn't remember the conversation, but he still wanted to know the answer."

"I don't know which part of that to focus on first."

"I know, right?"

Lula popped her head around the end of the shoe rack. "I know which part. Start with shitfaced Ranger, because I can't picture that part."

"I thought you were looking for shoes," Connie said.

"I can multitask!"

Connie looked skeptical. "Do you think he was serious?" she asked me.

"I asked that and he said if I wanted to know how serious he was I should look in the back of the gun safe."

"And?"

"There was a ring box in there."

Pretty sure both of them stopped breathing. "Did you look inside?" Connie asked.

"Yes. It was the ring he brought for me to wear when we posed as husband and wife in Hawaii."

"Wait, what kinda ring are we talking 'bout," Lula said. "This some kinda fakeass prop ring?"

"No. It was real. Giant diamonds, beautiful band. I wore it nonstop the whole ten days because it was too beautiful to take off. I thought he'd borrowed it from this pawn broker he knows, but he must have bought it. I've been living with him for six months and it was apparently in the gun safe the whole time."

"He bought you a fancy diamond ring to wear as a cover in Hawaii and then kept it? Hunh. What do you think that means?"

We all exchanged a serious look. None of us brave enough to say it out loud.

"Just so we're clear," Connie said. "Had you and him ever talked about marriage before Hawaii?"

"Not in a pro-marriage way."

"And while you were there?"

"It came up a few times. Mostly Ranger said the fact he wore two guns and a knife meant he wasn't a good candidate for marriage or family. He said he couldn't afford the emotional intimacy of a relationship."

"Would you say the relationship you have now is emotionally intimate?"

Oh boy, that was a definite yes. I knew more of his secrets today than I ever thought possible. I'd met his family. I knew his fears. His shames. "He's been trying to make a committed effort to be more open with me."

"And he knows you really want to get married."

My instinct was to agree, but the sound didn't come out.

I'd asked a lot about marriage in Hawaii. He knew it was something I wanted in my life plan. If he'd asked then the answer would have been a squealed Yes!

I looked down at my swollen belly, rubbing a hand over the squirming person inside. The person I loved and wanted and would die for even though I hadn't met him yet. Protecting him had become priority one in my life plan. Way more important than anything I could have ever wanted. "It's not just about me anymore," I said softly. "I'm so in love with Ranger I can't imagine wanting to marry anyone else. But there's more at stake than my feelings. What if he's thinking of asking just because we're having a baby? I don't want us to be a duty."

"You don't think he loves you?" Connie asked in a way that clearly said _Bullshit_.

I rolled my eyes. "I know he loves me. Maybe as much as I love him."

"Then what's the problem?"

"The problem is after all that talk of marriage being a stupid move, and not being able to afford a relationship, I honestly thought he'd never ask. I was trying to make peace with that. This isn't him just springing a ring on me. This ring predates our relationship. I don't even know what's going on anymore, and I was already freaked out." Which is exactly what Ranger had said he was trying to avoid. God. He was right and wrong at the same time.

 _…_ _rather have some of you than none of you…_

I pulled in a big breath when I felt the prickle of tears. "I'm officially done being mature for today. We should buy some shoes and then go get french-fries and a smoothie and then look at ridiculously expensive dresses while Lula tells me about the latest person she captured."

Lula nodded. "Works for me. I just found a beautiful new pair of leopard print Via Spiggas and I got me a story about a dumbass stoner who got foiled by his own shoelaces."

ooo

I was feeling much more myself when I dropped Connie back at the office an hour later. Amazing what a little snacking and a lot of denial can do. I was craving some vicarious adventure, so I decided to drive Lula while she looked for the first time offending mail tamperer Ranger had passed on. So far she hadn't had any luck trying to corner him at his house. I got the impression he didn't spend a lot of time there. We asked his neighbor. He said that old Carl spent as much time going through trashcans as he did mailboxes. Unfortunate. But not illegal. Lula and I roamed around for a couple hours checking cans and dumpsters and came up empty. We were just reaching the point of giving up when a sleek black SUV pulled to the curb behind the Mercedes. Ranger and Tank got out. It was hard to tell through the black sunglasses, but I think they might have been amused by the sight of Lula Sunshine and the pregnant lady poking around a garbage filled alley in broad daylight.

Ranger crooked a finger at me. Beckoning me forward. "Having fun?"

"If that's what you call wandering around in the gutters looking for a guy who steals welfare checks than yeah I'm having a blast."

"Would the sarcasm ease if I took you to dinner?"

"Maybe."

The corner of his mouth twitched. He nodded to Tank and Tank acknowledged, leaving Ranger with me. He gestured an invite to Lula and she joined him in the SUV, shooting me several encouraging looks on the way. Ranger held his hand out for my keys and walked me to the Mercedes, holding my door for me. He angled in and pulled away from the curb. "What do you feel like?"

I felt like knowing if my boyfriend wanted to talk marriage because of adoration or social expectation. "Italian?"

Ranger turned the car toward center city.

He ended up being right. My mood was indeed improved by a little manicotti. I was even able to relax into the company. There was still a tension between us because of the things we weren't saying, but even that seemed to be overridden by Ranger's easy energy. He was a calm kind of guy. Had a quiet authority about him that always made me feel secure. It had made him a good mentor and a good partner. Using that calm to help me feel brave had made him a good friend. He was more than just a boyfriend or a lover. He was the kite string that anchored me and kept me flying.

I stole a few glances at him while we ate. Trying to decide just how chickenshit I was. "You look like you're feeling better."

"Don't want to amputate my skull anymore," he said, way more at ease on the surface than I could ever manage. "On the plus side, my obvious display of self-punishment last night turned up a lead. Tank and I spent the morning running it down."

"Find anything?"

"Got a fair amount on Dolohov. He's Russian mob, out of New York. Used to be big time, but his business took a serious hit when he was implicated in human trafficking a few years ago. He's had three letter agencies crawling all over him ever since. Seems he's put most of his resources into the weapons to stay afloat, since ATF isn't looking at him as closely as FBI and ICE. Should be able to use some of Eddie's contacts to reach out. Figure out what went wrong with the deal. In the meantime we're digging up what we can on the man fronting for the buyer. It's not as straight a line as I'd hoped. Big Jim's contact number was a bust. Disconnected, likely a burner. But right now he's our only lead. If we can figure out who he works for it'll give us a much better idea of what the arms were intended for. Not to mention another suspect for Loopy's murder."

"That would be helpful."

He fixed his eyes on me. The cryptic thoughts unable to hide the affection. "I need a favor."

"Oh boy."

"Babe," he said, corner of his mouth twitching. "We can circle back around to that if you want, but for the moment I just meant that I need to talk to Marco and I'd like you to be a buffer."

"Does that really seem like a good idea?"

"It's a better idea than going in on my own. I've spent a lot of years cultivating the Zen attitude, but Marco still knows where all the buttons are. He doesn't know yours. I have every faith that you can handle him."

"And if I can't?"

"You have my permission to break his nose."

"Jeez. I'm not sure your mother would be happy about that."

Ranger shrugged. "She likes you and you're having my baby. She'd side with you against the Dali Lama."

ooo

Marco

Pretty much the only good thing about the setup his smug-ass little brother had shoved him in was the fact Gorge Diaz never talked. He'd always been quiet. Probably one of the reasons Carmen had dumped his boring ass in the first place. But at least he kept them in pizza and let Marco watch tv in peace. Marco woulda been screwed if Ranger'd given him to Tank. Just from the twenty minute ride to this hell hole he could tell Tank wasn't over the Garcia thing. Had a look to him like he wanted to rip Marco in half.

He was trying to ignore his ex-cousin-in-law's staring when he heard the garage door open and shut. Not a flinch from Diaz. He was kinda hoping it was a change of the guard that might at least get him a decent mark to fleece at poker. Surprise surprise when the door opened and the happy couple came striding in. "Oh good. 'Cause this shit ain't messed up enough. I have to get a visit from the princess and his lady friend."

Babymama froze like she'd seen a ghost. Bright blue eyes taking in every inch of him. He might have thought it was attraction he could turn to his advantage, but after a second he realized what it really was. He was in the only clothes that had been left in the closet. Same shit his brother used to wear before the haircut and the life upgrade. They'd always looked alike. Carlos was younger and prettier. Scrawny until the Army beefed him up. But from the look on her face, she was seeing him. Like she was looking at the version of who Ranger woulda been if he'd never left Jersey.

Hard to tell what she thought of that.

Ranger said something to Diaz and Diaz vacated. Sterilizing the room to avoid contaminating his man of steel image. Gave Marco a lot of satisfaction to know his button pushing still worked. The tough guy folded his arms over his chest and flexed his tough guy muscles. Fixed his brother with a hardcore stare. "I talked to Big Jim."

"Congratulations. Should I order wedding invitations?"

"Yuck it up. Because the way I see it you dug this hole all on your own."

"I do a lot of things on my own. I'm used to it."

"Unknown seller for an unknown buyer? I thought you were smarter than that."

"Don't try and lecture me, mijo, you're not my keeper. And after the shit you've pulled? The word hypocrite comes to mind. Did you tell your girlfriend about where you used to get all those cars before you landed your fancy government contract?"

"We're not talking about me."

"Sure we're not," Marco said, turning his smirk to his brother's girlfriend. "See, my little brother and his buddies used to muscle for this chop shop—"

"Deflecting won't make it go away."

"Oh and now he's busting out psychology terms. Guess all that college paid off, huh? What were you again, a philosophy major?"

He saw the snap in his brother's eyes, wave of malice pouring off his body. He was about three inches from getting his neck rung and he didn't even care. Babymama must've sensed the danger because she stepped between them. "How did the sellers contact you to set up the meet they didn't show for?"

Marco was still glaring daggers at Ranger. Unwilling to break first. She rolled her eyes and cocked her posture, impatience just short of foot tapping. Couldn't help it when she drew his eye. She was dressed in a pair of figure hugging jeans and a tight black t-shirt, showing off every curve of her body, baby belly included. If she'd been all plastic and model hot it woulda been easier to judge her. Bought girl for his brother's bought life. But she wasn't. She was definitely hot. But in a real way. More girl-next-door than he'd ever pictured. The kind of woman that knew what she was worth and wouldn't take shit. Stood her ground no matter what. Hard not to admire that. "My ex had the details. She set up the meet. Called me in to do the deal. I never got names."

"So you don't know who Dolohov is?"

Fuck. Karma wasn't just a bitch, she was a damn terrorist. He shut down every thought he could and gave the woman a blank stare. Lucky for him she moved on. "How about the buyers? How were you supposed to contact them when you had what they wanted?"

"Seriously, how did my pain-in-the-ass little brother get a girl like you?"

"Just answer the question."

He felt the pull at the corners of his mouth, unable to hide the smile. "I've got a burner."

"And you didn't think to mention this before?"

"Nobody asked before. Besides. It's not really relevant until I have what they want. Reaching out before that seems a little suicidal."

"Hand it over," Ranger said, extending a hand.

Marco cut his eyes to his brother again. Not at all inclined to comply. "You might as well give it to him," Stephanie said. "Ranger doesn't usually take no for an answer."

"So that's how he got to you, huh? He took first and didn't ask questions later?"

She put her hand on her hips like Ranger did. Tried to show that same condescension masked as stern authority. It was so cute he lost every last scrap of judgement he was still trying to hold against her. He stood and pulled the burner from his front pocket. Tossed it to Ranger. "Don't know how much good it'll do you."

"And that's why I'm in charge and not you," Ranger said, examining the phone. Saw the single disconnected burner number programmed in. "I'll call Silvio," he said to Stephanie. "See what he can get from it. Keep an eye on this one. He steps out of line, you know what to do."

She nodded like a reluctant enforcer, turning up the badass demeaner to hide her nerves. Ranger honest to god smiled. He stepped outside, leaving Stephanie and Marco alone.

She didn't break eye contact once. Like she thought the full on stare was a forcefield. Tryin'a imitate the huge thugs Ranger had on his payroll. Marco paced toward her, showing submission. "You don't have to do the whole intimidation thing. I'll be on my best behavior, promise."

"Like you were last time?"

The smile was genuine, but not a bit ashamed. "Touché. For what it's worth, I'm sorry about that. It was a shitty thing to do. And I wish I could blame it on the music or the ambiance or the fact that you are so damn beautiful, but the truth is I was jealous. I mean, not only are you beautiful, you're sharp. Clearly very good at your job. You don't meet a lot of women that are sexy and smart and street tough all at once."

Her determination to ignore the flattery was no match for the fact she liked it. She closed up a little when he entered her airspace again. "Don't get any ideas."

Marco raised disarming hands. Reached toward the bar and picked up a stool. Offered it to the lady who was over standing. He set it next to her when she didn't take it and nudged her hip, dipping a sly finger in her pocket while she was distracted. She still didn't trust him, but she sat all the same. "You're right," he told her. "I crossed the line last time. I just can't wrap my head around what my pain in the ass little brother coulda done to deserve a girl like you."

She bit her lip instead of answering.

Damn if there was ever a tell better than that. "He really did take first and ask never, didn't he?"

"It's not your business."

"Just sayin'. That look you got when the arms dealer asked about wedding bells, that was because you want a ring and he won't even discuss buying one, right?"

"Seriously. Drop it."

"Hey I'm on your side. You're having his baby, you're cleaning up his messes, you deserve a ring. If he was even a little serious he woulda—"

"He bought one, okay, it's me! I'm the problem!"

He couldn't have been any more surprised if she'd cobra punched him in the mouth. "You?"

She didn't answer. Not even with eye contact. Blew his ever loving mind.

"Let me get this straight. Ranger offered to make you an honest woman and you turned him down?"

"I'm not talking about this with you."

"But he did buy you a ring."

She turned the pissed off woman vibe up full blast and directed every last dagger of it his way. The side door opened again and Ranger reentered the room. Stopped in his tracks when he sensed the tension. "Problem?"

"Nope," she said. "We're hunky dory."

Ranger's protective vibe amped up when he cut his eyes to his brother. Marco was too shocked to manage open hostility though. Best he could do was keep his face blank while his head wrapped itself around what she'd just said. Ranger eyed him hard before he turned back to Stephanie. "Silvio wasn't able to find an active signal linked to the number, but he confirmed that it's another burner. He'll notify me the next time it transmits. Should be able to triangulate a signal."

"That's good. I don't suppose he was able to figure out who bought them."

"Not yet. They were purchased with cash from a gas station in Hamilton Township. I've sent a couple men up there to see if there's security footage. Could catch a break and identify the front man Big Jim mentioned."

"That's something."

Ranger nodded. Eyes on Marco again. "Anything else your holding back?"

Marco didn't answer. Torn between the default snark and holy fucking shit. Golden Boy's life was supposed to be perfect. Everything he always wanted.

Except her.

Marco bit his tongue while his brother stared him down. Put his hand to her back and gestured her away.


	81. Chapter 81

AU of Plum Crazy

* * *

Chapter Eighty-One

Steph

A phone buzzed on a bedside table in the darkness, dragging me out of a very vivid dream. I could tell it was early. A look to the clock told me just how ungodly. I held my breath. Ranger's phone. Nobody called Ranger's phone unless it was important. Status updates never happened before seven. Middle of the night calls were usually life or death.

Ranger answered. Listening for a second. Disconnected and got up off the bed.

Uh oh. "What's happened?"

"Diaz just did a bed check and found Marco AWOL. Seems he bypassed the security system and hotwired the fleet vehicle. The fleet car doesn't surprise me considering he's been hotwiring since we were kids, but he would have needed a top level clearance remote to shut off the house security system. Diaz didn't have one of those on him."

"Oh boy."

Ranger cut his eyes to me. "Babe?"

There was no point in drawing out the inevitable, right? I took a deep breath and bit my lip. "He might have sort of put his hand in my pocket last night."

"You wanna run that by me again?"

"It wasn't anything bad. He was being nice and offered me a stool to sit on and I didn't even notice until we got home that my key fob was missing. Thought the pregnancy brain had lost it in my bag somewhere. But there's a teensy possibility that he might have stolen it." Boy, that sounded even worse out loud than it had in my head. Maybe I should have drawn out the inevitable after all. I lifted my shoulders in a shrug. "Sorry."

The head shake was barely there. "We're gonna talk about personal awareness later. Right now we need to see if we can pick up his trail. The GPS in the fleet vehicles are hardwired. He won't be able to disable it. Shouldn't be hard to catch him, assuming he doesn't anticipate my tracking capabilities and switch cars."

His phone buzzed again. That time I could see that it was Tank. Ranger wasn't happy as he listened to his second in command for a long second. Made a face that was the expressional equivalent of a conversational ' _fuck'_. Disconnected. "Looks like we've got even more problems than an AWOL fugitive. Tank just got a tip off that the Newark police are releasing a sketch in the next hour. Pregnant brunette with curly hair and a muscular Latino man."

"Why would they do that?"

"Remember Stretch and Tiny? They were found shot dead a couple hours ago outside the biker bar. One in the head, two in the chest. Execution style."

Oh no. That was really really bad. And then a thought occurred to me and I clapped a hand over my mouth. I didn't want to ask it, but it just sort of popped out. "You don't think Marco went to Newark do you?"

Ranger just looked at me. The rest of the question hanging between us.

He didn't answer.

ooo

Ranger

He left Stephanie to shower and dress with the expectation she'd meet him in his office on five. Tank was already there, tracking Diaz's fleet vehicle and coordinating assets. Ranger'd been right about how quick they could find the Escalade. He'd also been right that his brother was smart enough to switch cars. Worst news of all was that he'd also ditched Steph's keys and the GPS unit on them in the cupholder. He was completely in the wind.

By the time Stephanie had come down he'd reached out to every contact he could think of. Getting nothing but one piece of bad news after another. Stephanie was uncomfortable when she entered his office. "The control room isn't crisis quiet."

"Marco's still wanted by the police. Didn't want to involve my men unless it was absolutely necessary."

"I'm really sorry."

"It's not your fault, Steph. Marco's been a master manipulator our whole lives. It doesn't surprise me at all that he got your guard down. He can even be charming when he puts his mind to it. Chances are he'd figured out in Miami that the direct approach wouldn't work on you and he decided to be more subtle. Saw an opportunity and took it. I should have thought to warn you when I left you alone with him. Best I can hope for at this point is that he's left some evidence or clues at the safehouse that will lead to his whereabouts."

She nodded and followed him to the garage, looking more nervous than usual. He was just hoping it wasn't her sixth sense. Steph and Karma had a love hate relationship, considering the garbage rolling, but her intuition had saved her more than once. Him too, when the sudden spidey sense tension put him on alert. She was tense now. Somewhere between white and green. Made his heart pound in his chest no matter how slow and easy he breathed.

He put her in the Cayenne and pulled out onto the street. Made it all of twenty feet before a shot fired, clipping a big white circle into his driver's side window, right next to his face. Steph gaped at him, but he was already scanning the road for an out. Another bullet clipped the glass. Ranger saw the opening in traffic ahead and pressed his foot to the gas. A third shot hit his back window in a big white dimple and Steph found her voice enough to squeal.

Ranger hit his speed dial on the Bluetooth and put a hand to Steph's leg, hoping to reassure her. From the way she reacted to the steel in his weaponized body that was only minorly helpful. Car rang once before Tank answered. "Was that fucking sniper fire?"

"South exit. From the angle I'd guess third or fourth floor."

"I'm on it." Disconnected.

Steph was gasping, hand on her heart. "What does that mean, he's on it?"

"We have a sophisticated gunfire tracking system that will tell Tank the exact location from which the shots were fired. He'll send teams to shut down the building and alert Trenton PD."

"Someone tried to kill you!"

"Yes."

"That first one was aimed at your head!"

"That would be the smart choice."

"Have your windows been bulletproof this whole time?"

"Babe." Like he would take so many precautions for her safety and his and then allow them to be vulnerable in transit. He'd been upgrading his personal fleet so long he got a discount on her Mercedes trio.

He did a few heat runs to shake any asshole who might be inclined to follow them and then made for Ewing Township. Clicked his remote on the safehouse garage. The Escalade was gone, since it was in Tank's custody after being ditched five miles away. In its place was another black SUV. Stolen. By a selfish petulant asshole who was incapable of considering the consequences.

The warmth of Steph's leg under his hand was the only anchor that kept him from seeing red. Even then it only went so far. Took him a hard long second to trust himself enough to speak. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," she said, still sounding freaked out. He moved to her belly, following his instincts to where the baby was squirming and nudging against his hand. She covered it with hers and squeezed. "We are."

He prayed that she was right. That the stress of being shot at in a speeding car wasn't enough to throw her into labor. He held onto her a minute, waiting for the hard belly tighten of a contraction. Lost the last remaining threads of his civility.

Ranger angled out of the car and started for the house. Threw the door open. Diaz was standing there, eyes fixed on his target. " _He came back a couple minutes ago,_ " he said in Spanish, " _I haven't had time to ditch the_ —"

Ranger couldn't care less about the stolen car through his rage. All he saw was his fucking selfish asshole brother standing in the living room, hands up in surrender. Like that would save him.

Marco opened his mouth to placate and Ranger put his fist through it.

Marco hit the floor hard, but it wasn't hard enough. Ranger drew back again until Steph's hand caught his elbow. Her calming presence barely tangible on the edges of his fury. Took absolutely every scrap of his will to let her hold him back, wrath pouring off every inch of him as he stood over his brother. Marco was in pieces. Failing to scrape himself up while he caught the blood pooling from his mouth in his open palm. "Jesus Christ."

"Talk. Now."

"I can't if you break my jaw."

"I'll break more than your jaw. I just had a sniper take shots at me outside of my own fucking building with Stephanie in the car."

Marco snapped his eyes to her, scanning like he was afraid she'd be hurt. Too fucking late to consider his fucking actions. Or the goddamn consequences.

"Tell me it was a coincidence you were AWOL."

"Jesus, Carlos. I didn't take shots at you."

"Where were you?"

"Nowhere."

"So you didn't go to Newark?"

"Hell naw, man. Why would I fuckin go to fuckin Newark?"

Fuck. "Are you high?"

Marco didn't have to answer. It was all over him. Loose way he moved, unfocused eyes, faint but familiar stink of weed. He was high as a fucking kite. He glared at Ranger. "You got no fuckin right to judge me."

"Maybe not, but it's sure as hell my business when your shit is putting people I love in danger. I tell you I talked to Jim Domingo and less than twelve hours later his lapdogs have been executed and Jim is found in an abandoned house tortured and left for dead, all after you decided to lift Stephanie's remote and go for a joy ride. Now tell me, what part of that am I not supposed to judge?"

Stephanie turned wide eyes on him. "Big Jim was tortured?"

"Yes," he said, his searing gaze still anchored to his brother. "My contact at Mercy General said he's still unconscious. Only word first responders got out of him was Manoso."

"You think someone tortured him to find out who you are?"

"I think it's a possibility. Someone killed Lupita Ortiz to send a message. My guess is I was meant to be another. Couldn't get to me through my secured building so they waited for me to leave."

"You think they're targeting anyone named Manoso? Omigod! Your family!"

"They're safe. I erased the name Manoso from property records years ago. A precaution to prevent any enemies I'd made from tracking me down through my family. My parents' house is owned by a management company I set up through an alias, and their address of record is a condemned building on Wilson way."

"That was pretty smart."

"Smart only goes so far. Especially when certain people go out of their way to do the opposite of what they've been told. Like leave a secured safe house to seek out a dealer."

"Fuck you," Marco murmured.

"Another unhelpful word from you and I really will break your jaw. Who did you contact?"

A cold glare was Marco's only answer.

"Is there any chance you compromised this location?"

"I wasn't followed if that's what you mean."

"You know that for certain?"

More staring.

"Fuck." Ranger turned to Diaz. "Pack it up and take him to the beta site. If he gives you any more trouble put him in the holding cell." Diaz nodded and Ranger grabbed onto Stephanie's arm. Intent to get her as far from this shitshow as possible. She'd planted her feet and wouldn't budge, still staring at Marco. "Babe."

"Give me your phone."

Marco looked at her like she was speaking Greek. "What?"

"Your phone. Give it over."

"Your man over there took it."

"Bullshit. Just give it to me."

Marco cut a defensive look to his brother on the hesitation, but Steph just rolled her eyes and put out an expectant hand, attitude in her whole body. She waited him out and after a long moment he stuck a reluctant hand in his boot and slapped a phone into her palm. She swiped it open and looked at his outgoing calls. Paused a beat. "You know Mini Velasquez?"

What little was capable in Marco's eyes turned sharp. "How do you know Mini?"

"She was FTA last year. If she's the one he bought from I don't see her telling anyone."

Ranger had to agree. Mini Velasquez had been a crafty little dynamo. Wily enough to turn FBI informant and still get away with hustling on the side.

Steph looked to the phone again and froze. "Holy cats. You called Big Jim!"

"When?" Ranger wanted to know.

"Three this morning."

"It's not what you think," Marco said.

"Go ahead. Enlighten us."

Marco held back a very deep sigh. "I wanted to find out what he told you."

"You could have asked."

"Like you woulda said."

"Maybe if your head wasn't so far up your ass—"

"Cripes, can you two can it for two seconds? Jeez Louise! No wonder you weren't on speaking terms." Both Ranger and his brother turned their guarded, incredulous eyes onto his amazing spitfire girlfriend and she studiously ignored them. "Marco," she said, refocusing. "What did you tell Big Jim?"

"Not much."

"Did you tell him who we were?"

"Didn't need to. He'd already figured it out."

"Did he identify Stephanie by name?" Ranger asked him.

It was a long second before Marco answered. His troubled eyes fixed to Stephanie. It wasn't often Ranger saw anything but contempt and jealousy in those eyes. Contention boarding on hatred. But when he looked at Stephanie there was something different there. Worry. Regret. Guilt. He held onto her pure open eyes as long as he could bare it before the guilt won and they dropped to her belly. Made it worse. Eyes closed with something like shame. "Yeah," he said.

"Shit," Ranger said. "Means our bad guys might know who she is now too." Thank god she was no longer living in that Grand Central Station for bad guys she called an apartment. Didn't mean she was safe. If they were able to find Ranger, and have the balls to take shots at him outside his building, they could find her too. She turned to look at him, fear all over her face. "Babe."

She nodded. Reading every bit of meaning he could squeeze into that one syllable. She knew she could trust him to protect her and her family. Even if she had to go into lockdown to do it.

He issued specific orders and collected the pilfered remote from Diaz. Marco would go to the beta site. Considering it was a shack in the Pine Barrens, there was minimal chance someone would be able to trace them. And the reinforced steel holding cell in the back room would prevent escape if he was stupid enough to try it again.

Risking his dumbass life for a fix. Marco was supposed to be smarter than that. Thank god for Stephanie. If she hadn't been the voice of reason he would have no doubt kicked his brother's ass so hard he might have needed an ER visit. Not good for several reasons. The least of which being that appearing in the open would likely land them all as sitting targets in jail.

He put a hand to Stephanie's back and let her guide them out to the Cayenne. Every nerve on edge when he saw the marks in the bulletproof glass again. He'd been upgrading his personal vehicles for years. Ever since the government contract was finalized. A precaution to shore up his vulnerabilities. And yet when he heard the bullets hit the glass, he'd actually been afraid. He'd been in firefights all over the world. Been hunted by foreign operatives and assassins. Routinely rubbed shoulders with dealers and sociopaths and crime bosses under dangerous circumstances that most sane people wouldn't dare risk. And yet a few bullets clipping into his car had his heart in his throat. Because of Stephanie.

He put her in the car and called Tank. "Give me some good news."

"Wish I could. PD didn't find the shooter. We've been combing surveillance, but there weren't any good angles of the building's back entrance. Could have slipped out before we had a chance to surround him. Can't trace him through specialized equipment either. Used a hunting rifle."

"Harder to trace, but not impossible. I'm ordering the backup plan be taken for our personal problem. He'll be transferred this afternoon. See that we don't run into any complications. You may have to take the reins for a while until we can get this resolved."

"We going into lockdown? You know how she feels about that."

"I do. Text me when Diaz checks in." He disconnected and angled into the driver's seat.


	82. Chapter 82

AU of Plum Crazy

* * *

Chapter Eighty-Two

Steph

I tried really hard to keep the fear from showing. Ranger was already upset. I didn't want him to feel like he had to scoop me up and put me back together too. The marks in the bulletproof glass were staring at me. Hard reminders that, if not for one precaution he'd taken, I could have lost him forever in less than a heartbeat. I rubbed my belly for comfort while he talked to Tank outside. Then he angled into the car. Saw me rubbing and put his hand to my belly too, more tender this time. "She still rolling around?" I nodded. "And you're not having any abdominal pains?"

"None."

He didn't look relieved. "You'll tell me if that changes. I know the doctor said she's abnormally good at handling your stress, but I'm not willing to take any chances this close to delivery."

"We're okay, I promise."

His hand held us tight. Unwilling to let go. Let out a breath. "God willing she'll stay put until we can get this handled. We can't really afford the public appearance of a hospital stay. But if she decides otherwise you will tell me and I'll do what's necessary to keep you safe. Are we clear?"

I saw a flashing progression of what that might mean. Everything from him giving himself up to the police as a decoy to him pushing his way into a clinic at gunpoint. I shook them off and tried my best not to freak out. I nodded again. "What now?"

He considered that, still holding the belly. "It's not smart to go home. Might need to be in the wind a while."

"How long?"

"Hard to say. The people targeting us aren't playing around. They need to be identified and neutralized. Until that happens we need to lay low. Preferably off grid."

"Like the Batcave?" He nodded. "You don't think they'd come looking for me at my parents' house do you?"

"I'll have Tank assign a detail just in case. Same with the bonds office. They're not likely risks, but they're worth covering."

"What about Briggs?"

"Do you really care what happens to Briggs?"

"If someone came looking for me and put a bullet between his eyes there's a chance I might feel responsible."

The smile was dry, but genuine. "I'll have someone call and put him on alert."

"Thank you."

I think he might have laughed at me, but it was hard to tell. Ranger rubbed my belly with that strong gentle touch and leaned toward me, brushing his lips against mine. Made me feel warm and loved.

He sent a quick text, then put the Cayenne in gear and backed out of the garage. We were just pulling onto the main road when Joe called me. "We're okay," I told him.

"Yeah, well I think I might be having a heart attack. I've been getting calls nonstop for twenty minutes about a sniper outside Rangeman. Tell me you weren't in the car with Ranger."

"I was, but don't worry, his windows are bulletproof."

"And the dead bodies I'm hearing about up by Newark that involve a pair of eerily familiar police sketches?"

"We went up there last night to talk to the head of the motorcycle club Loopy ran around with. We found out the seller who stood up Marco used to be bigtime Russian mob, but we don't yet know who the buyer was. My theory is the buyer killed Loopy to send a message, and last night he tried to follow the same leads we did, but in reverse. Discovered who we were and thought the shortest path to Marco was killing his brother."

"Put Ranger on the phone."

I debated whether this was a good idea, but the steel in his voice said he meant business. I put him on speaker.

"What the hell have you dragged her into?"

"I assume that's a frustration fueled rhetorical question, since Stephanie's been keeping you in the loop."

From the murmured Italian and subsequent sigh, that was accurate. "So what's the plan?"

"Right now the plan is to get Stephanie into a safehouse until we can gather enough intel for further action."

"And if she goes into labor?"

"We'll have to play it by ear, but if you're willing, it would help to factor you in as an option when we're coming up with contingencies."

"Anything."

"Good. In the meantime, Tank is trying to trace a set of burners purchased in Hamilton Township. Could lead to a connection with our wannabe assassin. According to my sources, the man standing out front doesn't read as career criminal. Doubt he's got a record. Might need help IDing him."

"This is all still off book?"

"If you can find a way of getting this legit without making a mess, I'm all for it."

"I'll do my best. Just whatever you do, you better keep both her and you safe through the end of this. I'm not really all that excited about co-parenting My Two Dad's style with a guy named Tank."

Ranger's mouth ticked up in a smile and he disconnected.

I'd been to the Batcave enough now that I recognized some of the streets while he was doing his heat run. Disabling the GPS long before he pulled into the hidden garage door tucked away under the bridge. Cut the lights as the door slid shut to drop us into darkness.

He stopped at the cargo area before he came to help the pregnant lady out of her seat. Dropped his keys in the bowl on the coffee table and set my hospital go bag on the armchair. "I have some things I need to follow up on with Tank from the office. You should head to the bedroom and lay down."

"I feel okay."

"Stephanie. I'd be more comfortable if you took a rest. I've already asked a tremendous amount of you, and there's a high chance I'm not done. I need you to take every opportunity for self-care available. Please."

The please sealed it. It wasn't a word he used lightly. Or ever. In fact the only time I could remember him saying it was when he'd asked me not to fight leaving with Tank when he knew he had to eliminate a man he'd feared had killed me. I agreed and he smiled. Caressed the belly on both sides before he leaned to kiss it, then me. Then he watched me waddle down the hall and disappear into the bedroom.

ooo

Ranger

Steph stayed out for a full two hours. He knew because he'd checked on her at regular intervals. Testing her pulse rate. Assessing her belly. There'd been a few mild tightenings, but they weren't anywhere near regular and didn't register enough to wake her. Braxton hicks contractions. Common the last few weeks of a pregnancy. Basically uterine practice swings. They didn't mean her time was imminent, but it did mean they were in the ballpark.

He was on the phone with Tank when he finally heard her stir. Smiled at the bed head curls when she eased the office door open and shuffled in, pregnant belly leading. There weren't any chairs other than his. Only he and Tank had ever been in the bunker house, and Tank didn't make a habit of hanging out with him in the office. He angled the chair and gestured her in, disconnecting before he gathered her into his lap, pressing a kiss to her shoulder. "Tank sent over the security footage from the gas station where Marco's burner was picked up." Hit a button on the keyboard to play it for her on the computer monitor. "The time stamp corresponds with the time of purchase. Looks like this might be our guy."

She leaned in to focus on the dark haired man, mid to late thirties, no unusual features. Only thing that differed him from any other was the slight nervousness in his eyes. "Do we know who he is?"

"Dominick Spinella. Small business owner. No priors. Never even been arrested."

"Did Morelli help you identify him?"

"I'd always planned to have someone hack into the state database. Asking Morelli was more an olive branch."

"Why would he be fronting for a bad guy if he's not a criminal?"

"Good question. Might be something we'll have to ask him." Pressed another kiss and pulled her closer, scooping her up to face him. "How are you feeling?"

"Rested?"

"And?"

"Hungry."

He smiled. Should have guessed that. "I've asked Tank to bring us supplies, but I believe Ella did pack some snacks in your go bag to keep you fed on the fly. Anything else?" She squirmed a little on his lap. Like the thing she had to say wasn't dignified. "Babe, I've had every last part of you in my mouth, I'm pretty sure there's nothing you can say that'll shock me."

"There was some… stuff."

"Was it your mucus plug?"

"Eww. I don't want to answer that."

He couldn't help but laugh. "A little or a lot?"

"Seemed like a lot."

"Any bleeding?"

"Just some pink."

"Then we're all good. If we'd been able to make it to your OB appointment today the doctor would have probably scraped your membrane anyway."

"Oh cripes. We missed my appointment? We're not supposed to miss those this close."

"Couldn't be helped, babe. I called the doctor and explained the situation. Warned him that we might have to get creative if you start showing signs of labor. If you get any headaches, lower back aches, bleeding, or you experience contractions he wants us to call him."

"You know lower back aches are a way of life for me these days, right?"

"Smartass."

She bit her lip. Thinking way too hard about what she wasn't saying. Didn't take long to wait her out. "Can I ask you something?"

"Babe." Like he'd ever been able to stop her.

She pulled in a brave breath. "The ring. From the gun safe. Is that really the same one from Hawaii, or did you recently buy a new one that just looks suspiciously like it?"

"It's the same one from Hawaii."

"So when I assumed you'd borrowed it, that wasn't entirely accurate."

He shook his head, slow and simple.

Hesitated. "When did you buy it exactly?"

"The night you called me to meet you in Hawaii. I asked Gregorio to bring in a selection from local jewelers. Bought the one that most reminded me of you."

"Why?"

He thought the answer was obvious. Until he thought through the actual question. She wanted to know why he'd bought it then, when to that point their relationship was basically equivalent to three one night stands. Why he would drop so much money on a ring for a cover when a cheap and simple gold band would have sufficed. It wasn't something he knew how to answer. He'd never actually put it into words before, not even to himself.

Whatever resolve Stephanie had wavered in the silence. He could feel it down to the second when she changed the subject yet again. "So how are we going to talk to Dominick Spinella?"

He debated allowing the change, but considering the pressure she was under he figured he'd let her have this one. "I have the address for the restaurant he owns. Figured we'd go out just after dark and wait to corner him when he's alone."

"Golly gee, I love stakeouts."

"I know you do, Babe. Lucky you you get to sit this one out. I'm not about to encourage the pregnant lady to squat in a back alley for hours. You have enough of an interesting history with karma and garbage. I'm not taking the chance my kid'll be born by a dumpster."

"You think I'm waiting here while you run off into the night? Pfft, fat chance."

"If you come you're not leaving the car."

"You can't talk to a suspected bad guy without backup."

"Babe."

She blew out a grunted sigh. "At least call Tank. Or Hal, or Nollen, or Morelli."

He considered that. Tank was a no go. Barring emergency, he needed to be at the helm at Rangeman, not to mention he wasn't exactly funsized. Hal and Nollen wouldn't be much better. Morelli was an interesting option. Morelli came with a badge. Badges made people nervous. Might be enough to scare an amateur criminal into confession. "Text Morelli. I'm in the mood to play good cop, black op."


	83. Chapter 83

AU of Plum Crazy

* * *

Chapter Eighty-Three

Morelli

Working with Ranger had always been a strange prospect. Wasn't something Morelli had particularly enjoyed. Ranger might have been next level professional and damn gifted, but the rivalry had killed anything past civility between them. Having two strong willed men who were both into the same woman made for some interesting tension to say the least. Even if they had always managed to get past it for the greater good.

It had been hard for Morelli to finally accept that Steph had made the right choice. There was even a small chance he might have started appreciating Ranger's company on the occasions Steph had brought them together socially.

Hard to guess what that might mean for their professional relationship.

He went to their rendezvous spot twenty minutes early to get the lay of the land before Ranger showed up. Streets were empty. Dusk giving over to night while the city washed in dark blues around the streetlights. Quiet.

Then a knuckle rapped his window.

His sidearm was in hand before his eyes could take in the familiar shadow.

Ranger.

Jesus. Fuck, the guy was half ghost.

Morelli holstered his weapon. "Nice to see you too."

"You're not in an arresting mood are you?"

"Not for you." Morelli shoved the door open and angled out of his green SUV. Ranger stepped back, staying on the edge of his strike zone. "Is it safe to assume you left Stephanie at the safehouse?"

"Tried."

"Christ. Let me guess. Didn't go over well."

"Not exactly."

"She do the whole shouting and arm waving thing?"

"She doesn't do a lot of shouting with me. Mostly it's emotional appeals and compromise. She needed to know what was going on and I needed her to be secure. She agreed on waiting in the car."

"Wow. Just like that?"

"Helps that she's too pregnant to run away."

Morelli smiled at the joke, but deep down he was impressed. Steph was a force to be reckoned with. Always had been. From childhood when she'd lied and broken rules and jumped off garage roofs, all the way to the grown woman hell bent on proving her worth to the world. She had authority problems through and through. Ranger'd not only recognized that, he'd apparently learned from Morelli's mistakes.

Seemed he actually understood her.

"I've spent the last few hours combing through our target's finances," Ranger said, moving on in Morelli's silence. "Found a number of anomalies that usually add up to gambling debts. Might explain why a man with no rap sheet is suddenly involved in a large scale arms deal."

"You think he's being coerced?"

"If he is it shouldn't be too hard to get him singing."

"As long as it's easier than getting Stephanie Plum to stay in the car, I think we're good."

Ranger might have smiled, but it was hard to tell in the dark. Harder still when he turned and blended into the shadows like a ninja.

The all black thing was starting to make sense.

They took up a position in the alley behind the Italian restaurant, where they could case the back entrance. Settled in for the long haul. They were only there a half hour when Ranger's phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and glanced down. Smile tugging at his mouth. "She's bored."

"She never did have any patience."

"Nope. Five years into a career in bounty hunting and she's still fidgety after ten minutes."

Morelli grinned. Amazed that it didn't ache anymore.

They lapsed into a pensive silence again. Both of them keeping their own counsel.

It had taken Morelli a long time to adjust to the way things had turned out. He used to think Ranger was a crazy loose cannon, with a predatory fascination with her that bordered on creepy. Now that he was on the outside, distant enough to recognize how the rivalry distorted his lens, he was able to see what he'd missed.

Ranger loved her.

Probably more than he'd ever loved another human being in his life.

Ranger didn't just put up with her quirks and her craziness and the madness of the bounty hunting life she loved. Those were the very things he liked best about her. Morelli was a moron for not seeing it sooner. The way Ranger went out of his way to help her. The cold machine state he went into when she was in trouble. Even the fight they'd had in Hawaii, when Morelli'd shown up on the front porch of their lover's paradise and thrown the first punch. Ranger could have parried and subdued him. He had the body mass and the skills with Morelli that out of control. Instead the Zen had slipped away and he'd turned feral. Tearing into Morelli like he'd stolen something.

Because in a way he had.

Ranger might have never admitted it to Stephanie or even himself. But that feral part of him wanted Steph for keeps, and would have stopped at nothing to keep Morelli from taking her back. Morelli's nose had healed. So had the hand Ranger had fractured breaking it. But the laceration Morelli had busted under Ranger's eye had left a scar. The faint but lasting reminder that Ranger would always fight for her no matter what it cost him.

Ranger cut him a glance when he felt him staring. Morelli faced the back door again. "How often do you think about marrying her?"

"Are you asking my intentions, Detective?"

"Maybe. I mean, I'm pretty sure I know the answer, probably better than she does, but it seemed worth asking."

"Better than she does?"

Morelli was surprised by the surprise in his voice. Cut him another look. Not even a muscle twitch. Ranger was all stoic silence. "You know she thinks you're not down for commitment, right?"

"I know the handful of times I've tried to bring it up she turned tail."

"Because she's pregnant and she doesn't want the father of her baby saying he'll never marry her. I'm not entirely sure what stupid dumbass shit you've said to her to give her that impression, but I can tell you most of her commitment issues boil down to being scared. Her first marriage was a mistake wrapped in a shiny red bow of betrayal. And I might have loved her, but to be honest my offers weren't any more serious than our relationship. I thought maybe someday we'd get serious. But then you always seemed to be in the way."

Ranger's glance might have been mildly amused. Again. Hard to tell with Ranger.

"I'm just sayin'. Maybe what you have is a miscommunication."

"You should know none of my men try to get into my personal business. Not even Tank."

"Well then I guess you're lucky I'm not Tank."

That time he was sure Ranger had smiled.

The heavy metal fire door opened at the back of the restaurant. A lone figure exiting with the low kindled flare of a lighter. Spinella feeding his pack a day habit. Ranger signaled for Morelli to move in. Then slipped into the shadows again like he was the freaking wind. Probably would have been impressive if it wasn't freaky as hell. Morelli kept his feet quiet on the approach. Didn't get made until Spinella turned to face the night with the first clouded exhale of euphoria. Second he saw the rugged, six-foot-tall Italian guy, fear replaced the ecstasy. Put his hand in his pocket like he was looking for a gun. "You the new guy?"

Morelli stopped. Showing nothing but his hands. "What makes you think that?"

"I can see the bulge of the gun under the jacket."

Good thing he couldn't see the badge. "And?"

"And I didn't think anyone was gonna be dropping by tonight. The other guys said they'd handle this one without me. I mean, I'm not saying I'm not open to cooperating, I am. I can be a team player. But…" Then a thought occurred to him and he panicked, fishing harder. Morelli was going to rush him to keep him from finding his gun when a hand reached out of the shadows and snatched Spinella's neck, yanking him behind the dumpster horror movie style. There was a grunt when his back hit the wall. Morelli got around the corner and saw the massive mercenary looming over Spinella, practically radiating fire and brimstone. From Spinella's expression, he might have wet himself. "We need to talk."

"Christ! Don't hurt me, I'll give you whatever you want!"

"What I want is information about your boss."

Spinella froze. Really looking at Ranger for the first time. The recognition looked like it hurt. "Y-you."

"Yeah, me. Which means you have two options. Come clean and end up in a nice safe cell at the Trenton Police station, or…"

Spinella's eyes found Morelli. Terrified. Unsure if he was there to help or hurt. Didn't take much for Morelli to realize the man thought he was Italian mob. To be fair, he wasn't that far off. "I'd tell the man what he wants to know if I were you."

"He'll kill me."

"I wouldn't put it past him," Morelli murmured.

"He'll likely kill you either way," Ranger said, ignoring Morelli. "At least with us you've got a chance."

Spinella swallowed hard. Cutting his eyes from Morelli to Ranger and back again. Trying to decide who he was more afraid of. "How do I know _you_ won't kill me?"

Morelli flashed him the badge. "You cooperate, I'll make sure you're protected. Even if I have to babysit you myself."

That didn't sit as well with Spinella as he would have liked, but siding with a cop still seemed better than the alternative. Swallowed hard. "He came out of nowhere. First he used my debts to leverage a piece of my business and used it as cover to launder his money and keep his rowdy men entertained. Then he started demanding I do odd jobs and errands. I thought that it would end there. Thought my debts had to be paid by now. But it didn't, and I was too scared to ask out. The last couple weeks it's been phone calls. Something to do with a late shipment."

"You don't know?"

"Are you kidding me? I don't want to know! The guy's nuts!"

"If you don't know details, how do you know who we are?" Ranger asked him.

Spinella didn't cut his eyes to Ranger out of choice. "Because you look a hellova lot like the guy I gave the money to. They said this morning he had a brother who was poking around with a pregnant lady. Said they were going to make an example of you."

"What else did they say?"

"That you and your brother are dead men walking because he found his own connections. Had me call a man named Dolohov to set up negotiations."

"He's doing the deal himself."

Spinella nodded.

"I haven't heard your employers name yet."

"And you think I have?"

"You trying to tell me you work for a man and you don't know his name?"

"I'm telling you the guy's nuts! I wasn't gonna ask a name! All I know is they called him Whistler."

Shit. He should have goddamn seen it coming. He'd been investigating Wally Fenetti for months now, but Fenetti was frustratingly good at covering his tracks. Used burners. Kept a sterilized inner circle. Didn't contract out his hits. Without the murder charge major crimes would have had to build a Rico case to nail the guy.

"Where do I find him?" Ranger said.

"You don't."

"I'm not a patient man, Dominick."

"I'm serious! I don't know where he is. I never saw his base of operations. Mostly I get orders over the phone or from the guys who show up to boss me around. I haven't seen Whistler in weeks."

"How is he planning to get his shipment?"

"I gave Dolohov a phone number. He's supposed to call when he's ready to deliver."

"Is that standard operating procedure?"

"Honestly? No. Usually he has me handle it from beginning to end, but I'm not sad about him cutting me out. I'd rather be done with the whole thing."

Careful what you wish for. "We should take this down to the station."

Ranger nodded in agreement and took a fistful of Spinella's shirt.

Ranger's phone buzzed in his pocket again. Likely Bored Stephanie wanting an update. Then without warning a shot broke the stillness, bullet clipped into the side of the building in a spray of dust.

Morelli and Ranger took cover, shots pinging the dumpster, but Spinella panicked. Ducked Ranger's grip and tried to dart away.

The first bullet hit his shoulder. Then his side.

The last hit his chest and he was dead before he hit the ground.

ooo

Steph

My spidey senses were going haywire long before the gunshots. Pretty much started as soon as Morelli and Ranger moved out of sight behind the alley dumpster. Watching the guy they were interrogating drop dead in no way helped the redline panic already rattling my chest. I listened to the line ring on Ranger's phone while I craned my neck from the passenger seat of the Cayenne. I couldn't see them. Oh god. I couldn't see them and they weren't answering and there I was ready to deliver any day and my baby might have just lost both father and godfather.

Then I saw muzzle flashes near the dumpster. Return fire. I nearly burst into tears. The line opened up, sealing the deal. "Babe."

"Oh thank god. Why don't you ever answer when I call?!"

"Not really the time to discuss it."

"Hold on," I said, shoving my door open to scramble off my seat so that I could waddle around to the driver's side. "I'm coming to get you."

"No. Stay put, we'll come to you."

"But you're pinned down!"

"Stephanie."

I disconnected before he could get mad and hustled harder, holding my belly. I couldn't run, but I could damn well duckwalk shuffle. I made it to the driver's seat and squeezed behind the wheel, fastening my seatbelt. I heard a lull in the gunfire and turned the engine over, roaring into the alley.

Ranger wasn't happy when I pulled to a stop in front of them. I waved frantically anyway. Morelli broke for the car while Ranger returned fire one last time, then he broke for the back passenger door Morelli had left open.

He was nearly there when the shots hit the roof and the dumpster.

Red misted up from his shoulder.

Omigod! Omigod omigod omigod.

Ranger hit the doorway and was in the seat, yanking the door shut behind him. I threw my foot on the gas and jetted away, whipping out of the alley backward so hard our tires chirped and we half spun into the street. I slammed the shifter into drive and squealed away.

"Shit." I heard myself say. "Shit shit shit."

"You alright?"

"No, I'm not alright! You're bleeding! I'm not alright when you're bleeding!" I couldn't spare him more than a glance in the rearview mirror going that fast, but I could see the dark lines weeping down his arm. "Oh god."

Morelli searched for the first aid kit under the seat. "I got him. Just focus on driving. St. Francis is just a couple miles from here."

"Not the best time to remind you," Ranger said, his jaw tight, "but Stephanie and I can't exactly afford an ER visit at the moment."

"I don't see an exit wound. That means there's still at least part of a bullet inside you. Somebody's gotta get it out."

"Call Tank."

"Tank's gonna dig a bullet out of your arm without anesthetic?"

"Wouldn't be the first time."

"Shit," Morelli said with an appalled headshake, pressing clean white gauze to the wound.

I hit Tank on speed dial and tried to combat breathe so I wouldn't throw up. Explained to Tank about the ricochet and got maybe three words in return. The streets were too dark and unfamiliar as I whipped through them, praying I could find my way back on my own. My heart skipped a beat when I recognized the bridge. Hit the button on the key fob, relieved that the hidden garage door swung open to make way. I pulled into the garage and hit the button again. Scrambling out of the driver's seat to open Ranger's door.

Together, Morelli and I got Ranger inside. Okay, it was mostly Morelli. I was doing a lot of worried dancing. Thankfully I'd spent enough time in the Batcave to know where the industrial sized first aid kit was in the back of the closet. Left Morelli applying pressure while I mixed salt with warm water in the kitchen. The garage door opened again and suddenly Tank was there, taking up so much more room than seemed possible. "He still conscious?"

Oh jeez! It hadn't occurred to me he might lose consciousness!

Ranger grunted. "Just get the fucking bullet out of my arm."

Tank opened the cabinet under the wall mounted flat screen television. There was a bottle of tequila in there. Ranger shook his head. "You don't want me to do this with you sober," Tank said.

"I let you leave that here for your off days. I don't need to be drunk twice in one week."

"Humor me."

Ranger cut a look to me. Maybe gaging how I would feel watching him lose control again. "Just do it," I told him.

Ranger's jaw was creased in a mix of pain and vexation. Snatched the open bottle Tank was offering. He shook his head and actually rolled his eyes. Took a swig. The burn didn't seem to bother him, but the second the warmth hit he looked both relieved and annoyed. "Let's get this over with."

Tank washed up and got everything ready. Cutting Ranger's ruined shirt. He signaled to Morelli to take the gauze away and pressed a big white towel under the wound. Flushed it with warm salt water until the towel turned pink. Then he got out a pair of little forceps that freaked me the hell out. "Oh god."

"You might wanna sit down for this part," Tank told me.

"Steph. Would you go into the bedroom and get my shaving kit from my bedside table?"

I hesitated. Sure that it was just an out so that I could escape if I wanted without looking weak. It only took one prodding and subsequent groan of pain to push me into taking it. I closed the bedroom door against the sounds. Ranger's sharp intaking breaths. The soft murmur of Tank and Morelli's voices. I sat on the edge of the bed and cradled the baby, desperate to slow my breathing to keep from losing it. Took me a couple minutes to get myself together. Wiped the tears and picked up the shaving kit from where he'd said it would be. Then I braved my way back into the living room.

I heard the soft tink of the bullet dropping into the ceramic bowl.

"You'd be better off getting somebody more competent to do the stitches," Tank said as I came back into the room. Cut his eyes up to me with a load of affection. "Otherwise you'll end up with another ugly scar like the one from Columbia."

"If getting someone competent was an option I wouldn't have let you dig around in my shoulder with a pair of pliers on three shots worth of Tequila."

Tank smiled and took the bottle from Ranger, downing a decent swig himself. Offered it to Morelli. Morelli eyed it a second. Then accepted the bottle and followed suit. "Christ," he said with a grimace. "Remind me not to work with you anymore."

Ranger laughed.

I came into the room on tender feet until Ranger saw me. The affection in his eyes eclipsing Tank and Morelli combined. He gestured me in and had me settle on the edge of the couch where he was laying. Unfocused eyes searching my face with a tuck of stray curl while his best friend and mine worked to stitch him up. "You alright now?"

I nodded. "Trying to be." Might have been closer to true if the table wasn't littered with things covered in his blood. "That was a smart trick. Asking me to get something random from the bedroom so I could calm down."

"It wasn't random, Steph." He laid his hand on the bag, eyes still on me while he opened it. Dipped his fingers inside like he knew where everything was by heart.

Came up with his black wedding ring from Hawaii.

"You kept it," I whispered.

"I didn't just keep it, Steph. I carry it. You asked me why I bought the rings. Why I would spend so much on the most fitting set when anything would have sufficed." He set the ring in my palm. "The truth is it was because I've been in love with you for years. I just never thought that I deserved you. Morelli," he said, cutting his eyes that way. "He was a good man. Is a good man. I used to think good was better for you than supremely fucked up."

"Then why—"

"Because the part of me that wanted you didn't listen to reason. Never has. I had a chance to have you all to myself, away from the complications of home, and I let that go to my head. Bought into the fantasy hook line and sinker, all while telling myself I had it under control."

"So the rings. They were because—"

"I already wanted to marry you."

"Oh jeez."

He smiled. "Don't freak out on me."

In my defense, that was really _really_ hard. "Is now a good time to talk about this?" I asked, failing to not look at Morelli.

Ranger shrugged. "He knows. Tank knows, even if he never says it. And I'm too buzzed to care anymore. Only one here still worried is you."

I bit my lip, feeling the weight of the ring in my palm. "Why do you only talk marriage when you're drunk?"

"I'm not drunk Steph. Tequila isn't Everclear. I could take a cognitive function test right now and still get a decent score. And you're changing the subject. Again."

"If you wanted to marry me, why would you say that you wouldn't? I asked you a bunch of times and you said it wasn't in your life plan, and that you couldn't afford a relationship." Damn the stupid lump in my throat. "That if I got pregnant you'd never marry me the way you did Rachel."

Ranger lifted my chin until I looked at him. "My marriage to Rachel was a piece of paper to satisfy social convention. It was never real. Even with my head as far up my ass as it was before Hawaii I knew nothing I had with you could ever be that detached. I've known a long time that if I ever married you, it would be fucking real and it would be forever." He folded my fingers around his ring and touched his lips to my hand. "I just also knew I didn't deserve you yet."

"And now?"

"I still don't deserve you, but there's a very good chance I never will. You've also had a crash course in the darker parts of my life since then. Orrin. Vlatko. And now Marco. And you didn't run."

"To be fair I'm not the right shape to run right now."

Ranger's smile lit up the whole room. "God I love you."

Morelli and Tank had finished patching him up. Tank's eyes were twinkling as he gathered up the bloody tools and gauze and took them to the kitchen. Morelli right behind him to give us space. His eyes were crinkled too.

Ranger didn't watch them go. His eyes were on me. "What do you say?"

"Are you asking what I think you're asking?"

"If you'll have me."

"And this isn't just because of the baby."

He shook his head. "Stephanie, you are the only woman I've ever been tempted to want a future with. The fact you're having my baby was just an excuse to let myself have what I really want." Hand caressed my belly. "More than I ever dared to want."

"Then I say yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes!"

Ranger grinned, tugging me into him, a soft fervent kiss to my lips. I'd never shared a kiss with him before that was so wholesome and pure. A physical expression of absolute joy. I felt the tears prickle my eyes and laughed, snuffling like a crazy person. Snuggled into his bare chest, my head in the crook of his neck. "I don't suppose you have my ring with you too."

"I'm not sure it would fit right now even if I did. Pregnancy has a tendency to swell fingers as well as feet. But if you want you can wear mine until we remedy that."

I tried the black ring on. Obviously didn't fit the usual finger, but my first finger was a pretty decent fit. It gleamed dark. The lights falling over the carved pattern that matched my beautiful pale white gold ring. Dark and light. Yin and yang. There was something so poetic about it that I cried.

Ranger kissed my face with a gentle laugh when he saw my tears. Turning the ring reverently around my finger. Wove our fingers together and brushed a soft kiss to it. "Perfect."


	84. Chapter 84

AU of Plum Crazy

* * *

Chapter Eighty-Four

Tank checked Ranger's dressings and gave him a bottle of horse pills before he took Morelli back to secure the scene. Tank said he was going to have to blindfold Morelli on the way out to protect the integrity of the Batcave, but I was pretty sure that he was joking.

Maybe.

I snuggled against Ranger's chest a while after they were gone. As much for comfort as it was out of love. Listening to Ranger's steady heartbeat couldn't erase what had happened. Just like the new weight of Ranger's ring on my finger could only distract so much from the reminder that we'd all watched a man die.

I traced a light touch over the white gauze bandage on Ranger's shoulder, his fingers brushing my spine. "Why did they kill Dominick?"

"If I had to guess, it would be that Fenetti was tying up loose ends."

I lifted to look at him. "Fenetti?"

"Yep. Explains what the arms deal was for. Fenetti wants to reclaim his father's territory. Not easy with Colichio and Grizzoli standing in the way. He'd need serious firepower. What he didn't need was an outsider flapping his gums. Dominick wasn't one of his own. He was just the poor sap they were taking advantage of. Easy to turn. Knew enough to complicate things if he ended up a police asset."

"Do you think it was a coincidence that they shot him the same day they found out who we are?"

"No. I don't. In fact I think it's likely that in tracking me down, Fenetti realized what he was up against and decided to seal his perimeters."

"You think Dominick was shot because of us."

"I think Dominick was shot because he got involved with some bad people. From the sound of it Fenetti was cutting bait with him long before he realized I was the kind of man who needed my vehicles bulletproof."

"Big Jim was tortured because of us too."

"We can't control where the investigation leads, Steph. All we can do is follow it. But I am sorry that my brother's actions brought all this down on you."

"Family is family." And Marco was going to be part of mine, I realized. That was a powerful realization. I was still in shock that there was actually a ring on my finger.

Ranger brushed back a stray curl. "As much as I'm loving this, we should probably relocate. Not a lot of room for you on this couch."

"Oh boy. We should have asked Tank to get you to the bed before he left. I can't move you on my own."

"Babe, I took a ricochet to the shoulder. I do still have full use of my legs."

"Is it a good idea to move you?"

"I'll be fine. Promise." To prove it he shifted. Lifting me up with his body. Only the tightening in his jaw showed how much it hurt. I ducked under his arm anyway to at least guide him to the bedroom. He let me. Amused as I rested his injured arm across my shoulders, his other hand on my leading belly. When we reached the end of the bed I started with the buttons on his cargo pants to help him out of them and he grinned. "Babe."

"I can't help it! I don't like it when you're shot! It's not my favorite thing."

The grin persisted at my use of his words. Lowered his forehead to mine. "You love me."

The warm way he said it poured down me, adding to the squirm and flutter I already felt. "Yes."

He nuzzled my ear, fingers in my hair. "You're wearing my ring."

"Uh-huh…"

The chuckle did funny things to me. His lips moved to my neck. "You agreed to be my wife."

The bright flare in me was as much my heart as it was my body at the word wife. "Yes," I breathed.

"When?"

"Hmm?"

"When do you want to get married?"

"Like, pick a date?"

"I'd settle for a timeframe, but if you have a specific date in mind…"

I kissed him. Couldn't help it. It was just so overwhelming. Ranger didn't want to be engaged to be engaged, and he wasn't interested in the social status of having a fiancée. Like with all things, he was focused on the end goal. Which was being married to me forever. It was going to take some time to wrap my head around that.

He tugged on the ties of my stretchy black maternity shirt, easing it open an inch at a time. Revealing my black lacy bra over the swollen belly. His caressing touch traced my strap, inching that down too. Brushing a light kiss to my breast. Then lower. Until I was exposed and he took my nipple into his mouth. Teasing me in that incredible way that made me tingle in all the best places. His body was all around me. Hands leading down my side and back, cupping my bottom inside my jeans. My knees got weak and he eased me onto the bed. Every move slow and leisurely and intense.

"So the wedding," he said, dipping his finger into the other side of my bra to free my other nipple. My eyes crossed and I bit my lip it was so good. "I like sooner rather than later, but it's up to you."

"Months not years," I cooed, just trying to remember how to speak. "But I need time to look good in my dress."

"Babe, you look sexy in everything."

"Are we talking a big huge wedding?"

My pants hit the floor and Ranger leaned over me, his weight on his uninjured arm. "You can invite whoever you want to the reception. But I'm thinking the church should be small. Mostly family. And there's a good chance I'll steal you away before the evening is over."

"How is it that you can make planning a wedding sound like dirty talk?"

Ranger laughed, openmouthed kisses along my neck and jaw while he coaxed me up and around, filling me from behind as he held me skin to skin with his good arm. Teeth nibbling my ear. "Wait till we start negotiating details. I can be very creative in my methods."

I leaned my head back on him and focused on breathing, every bit of me singing as my boyfriend made love to me.

Fiancé.

Ranger was my fiancé. Holy fuck.

He kissed my shoulder. My temple as I turned toward him. His tongue touching mine in a deep kiss. He read me like sheet music and in no time I was holding onto his arm to keep from falling apart, his teeth grazing my skin when his breath shuttered too. He caressed my breast a long moment in the aftermath. Back to chest. His breathing matched with mine. I could even feel his heart beating against my back to the same pounding rhythm. "You're really ready to be a husband?" I asked him, trying to tease through the panting.

"Only for you, Babe," he said in my ear. "Only for you."

ooo

Ranger

Waking wrapped around a relaxed and satisfied Stephanie Plum was one of his favorite morning rituals. Right up there with making her relaxed and satisfied. It had been a challenge with his injury and her pregnancy. He'd never been one to back down from a challenge. Might not have managed it as many times as he'd wanted in celebration of breaking through their final barrier, but it was gratifying none the less. Hell, just holding her knowing she was thoroughly his was gratifying enough. He watched the solid line of his black wedding ring circling her white finger as it rose and fell with his breaths in the darkness. Completely fucking amazed that they were finally on the same page and looking forward. He wasn't used to living for the future. For a long time it had been difficult believing he had one. He'd spent a lot of years in the darkness. Messing up his karma at every stage from punk kid to girlfriend stealing bounty hunter. Never even felt bad about it until he realized he wanted her in his life. He'd been trying to fix it since then. Trying to make good for her sake so she wouldn't be dragged down with him.

Maybe this was his reward for finally doing right.

Tank texted that he was inbound and Ranger reluctantly left the bed. Pulled on a pair of old sweats and met his best friend in the kitchen. "You bring the supplies?"

Tank slid the black bag across the counter. "More clothes for Steph and enough fresh food to last a week. I would'a reached out and got some Vicodin for the shoulder, but we both know you wouldn't take it."

Damn straight. He hated the way it slowed his thoughts even when his family wasn't under threat. "Steph will appreciate not having to resort to MREs. You talk to Carson?"

"FBI isn't in a position to officially share files given the open nature of the investigation, but Carson made us hard copies off book. File's in the bag. Everything they have on Yuri Dolohov and his operations. Only thing they don't have is current known whereabouts."

"That'll be easy enough through Eddie's contacts. I don't suppose there were any whispers about what went wrong the first time."

"Knowing Marco, he probably screwed them on a previous occasion."

The bitter in Tank's voice made it hard for Ranger to keep his smile on the inside. Marco did have a talent for burning bridges and looking out for number one. "How's he settling into the beta site?"

"You mean did Diaz have to lock him in the cage the second they arrived?"

"Yeah that."

"Not that I've heard. Apparently he's been uncharacteristically compliant since your last encounter. Diaz seems to think almost getting you killed was a wakeup call."

More likely it was almost getting Steph and the baby killed that was the wakeup call. Marco never showed any protective instincts toward his brother, but the way he'd gone white at the idea of Steph in the car had been obvious, and had nothing to do with sibling rivalry. He actually cared about her. "See if Diaz can get anymore answers from Marco about the deal going south. If that fails, I'll have Steph talk to him. If he'll tell anyone, he'll tell her."

Tank nodded. Recognizing the dismissal.

Didn't leave.

Instead he was standing there with a shit eating grin.

"Just say it," Ranger said.

"You really ask Steph to marry you last night?"

"Yes."

"'Bout fucking time."

"Yeah, not all of us are willing to rush big life choices."

"If you mean Lula, I still don't really know how the fuck that happened. Waking up to her in a ring was about as sudden as her leaving me over a few cats."

"Blessings in disguise."

"Maybe."

That got his attention. Raised eyebrow was the only question.

Tank shrugged. "She was fun. And she could be thoughtful. She got scary intense at the end with all the wedding planning. But there are times I miss it."

"That why your fleet vehicle read as being at her place the morning after you drove her home?"

The shit eating grin was back.

Ranger had to laugh to himself after Tank left. No way Tank could know for certain what he was doing, but it was pretty safe to say his whole heart would be in it no matter which way he went. That was something Tank had always had over Ranger. He thought with his heart way more than his head. Lula was a wildcard, but Tank was right that she was fun. She'd made him happy for a while. There was a chance she'd grown up a little, watching Steph prepare for motherhood. One of those things only time would tell.

He was just finishing putting the groceries away when he heard Steph stir. The soft pad of her feet creeping toward him. He set aside the eggs and whipped around to snatch her up, setting her ass on the counter. Leaned into her with a tempting kiss. "Morning."

"Morning," she echoed, the sweet smile tinted with just a little dirty. Then she remembered. "That didn't hurt you?"

"Babe." She'd seen him take worse damage. Not that it was smart to remind her. "What do you think of omelets for breakfast?"

"You're not making breakfast after you were just shot. You go rest on the couch and I'll make breakfast."

Now that was funny. Steph didn't have a domestic bone in her body. "Pretty sure nine months pregnant beats a flesh wound, Babe."

"I mean it," she said, trying to shoo him. "But first help me down, because I'm too pregnant to get off this counter on my own."

He laughed right out loud at that, scooping her off with his good arm and easing her down his body. Kissed her with such passion that she might have forgotten what she was doing for a couple minutes. Then he picked up the FBI file on Dolohov and let his stubborn future wife do her thing. He read while he listen to her jostle around in his kitchen. Came out five minutes later with a pair of plates. Two slices of whole grain toast each complete with jam and peanut butter, accompanied by an unsliced apple. His eyes held hers, full of laughter, and she shrugged. "I don't really know how to cook and there's no fruit loops."

"It's perfect, Babe."

"Are you just saying that?"

"Yes."

The laugh won when she narrowed her eyes and he kissed her head, taking a bite of toast. "Tank brought intel on Dolohov with the food this morning. Looks like FBI's been watching him a long time. His primary business used to be human trafficking until one of his trucks ended up in FBI custody. No eye witnesses, and there's no mention of a driver, but there was enough paper trail to lead back to the source. Seems it was the inciting event that prompted his career change."

"Whoever's responsible for that should get a medal."

Ranger agreed. "Since Dolohov is now the only living person we know of who has a way to contact Fenetti and his people that seems the next logical step. I'll be able to find him. But getting what we need out of him might require finesse."

"Like a little good cop, bad cop? Or in our case bimbo cop, scary cop?"

"I'm not sure bimbo cop, scary cop would get us there even if you weren't nine months pregnant. Yuri Dolohov is under investigation for a laundry list of criminal enterprises, including some very grisly charges for prostitution of underage girls. He's not a nice man. I don't see him turning cooperative just because a beautiful woman asks nicely."

"So what we need is leverage."

"Yes. Unfortunately I don't know what kind of leverage we'd need to get Yuri to dance."

"We still don't know why the deal with Marco fell through, do we?"

"Not yet."

"But you think you can get us in to see Dolohov?"

"Depending on the access of Eddie's contacts."

"All of us?"

He could see the wheels turning that brilliant intuition of hers. "What are you thinking, Babe?"

"I'm thinking that if something Marco did was enough to screw up the easiest weapons trade in the history of the business, it just might be something that could leverage an eager seller."

"How do we know seeing him won't push Dolohov over the edge and get us all killed?"

"Dolohov must have had a chance to kill him when he showed up for the meet alone. Whatever Marco did, Dolohov wanted to hang him out to dry so that he would suffer. That sounds personal to me, and personal puts people off balance."

"Damn. You always did have a talent for seeing things that I don't. I'm not sure how smooth it'll go though, taking Marco into a situation like that. So far you're his only successful handler, and I'm not thrilled about the idea of taking you in to meet Dolohov just to keep my brother in line."

She shrugged. "It's our best option."

He hated that she was right. "I'll make some calls. Recall Marco and Diaz from the Pine Barrens safe house."

"Might not want Marco to know where we're headed. Something was off about the way he reacted to Dolohov's name. No surprise. No curiosity. Nothing. He knows something he didn't want to tell us."

A grin broke over Ranger's face. Lifted her chin to brush a kiss to her lips. "Being coerced by Connie to meet with you was the best thing that ever happened to me."

"She had to coerce you?"

"Babe, you were a unemployed lingerie buyer and Vinnie's cousin. Connie had to pull in every favor just to get me in that room."

"Wow."

He smiled, rubbing the belly between them. "Like I said. Best thing that ever happened to me."


	85. Chapter 85

AU of Plum Crazy

* * *

Chapter Eighty-Five

Marco

Being dragged outta that shitty house in the Pine Barrens was almost as insulting as being shoved there in the first place. Couldn't fucking believe it when his ex-cousin-in-law brought out the cuffs. Shit. If it weren't for the fact the boring as fuck surface covered some pretty gnarly black ops military skills he mighta fought it, but as defiant as he wanted to be he wasn't stupid. Even at five foot eight Diaz coulda snapped him like a twig.

It was a long ass drive back to not civilization. Parked at the side of a middle of nowhere road behind a shiny black Mercedes sedan. At first he thought it was transfer, maybe to another of his brother's thugs, and then his brother got outta the driver's seat. Incognito in jeans, mirrored sunglasses, navy blue baseball cap, and old brown bomber jacket. Mighta fooled the people who'd gotten used to his image in the all black, but that was because those people were probably morons.

Golden Boy strolled up to their Escalade while Gorge Diaz got out and opened Marco's door, expecting him to slide out. Fuck. Meant he'd be going with the princess. Fan-fucking-tastic. Marco slouched out, his cuffed hands in front of him, all attitude so his holier-than-thou brother would have to lower his dignity to show he was pissed.

Ranger stood in front of him, hands on hips like superman while he gave him the disapproving scan. Ticked his jaw toward the Mercedes in a gesture to move. Marco stayed rooted. No fucking way he was gonna make it that easy. Ranger raised a brow. "I'm not asking any nicer than that."

"No shit. But you only sent us to the crap hole yesterday. What's changed?"

"Intel. As tends to happen with an active investigation."

"Meaning you found something and you think you can use me to get an advantage."

Ranger's patience was wearing, just how he liked it. Until the passenger side door opened on the Mercedes and Baby Mama Stephanie's head popped up over the roof of the car. "What's the holdup?"

"Marco's not in a cooperative mood," Golden Boy said.

Her eyeroll could have been spotted from space. "Cripes, I swear this is like grade school all over again. Can we just forgo the my dick is bigger than your dick and just get in the car please? I'm not exactly comfortable in here."

Marco kept glaring daggers at his brother, but damn if she wasn't cute. Part of him wondered if he was crazy for liking her. Ranger did the smart thing and shifted out the way, gesturing a hand so that Marco could saunter to the car under his own dignity, making it clear he was only complying for her. It took Stephanie some effort to angle back into the front passenger seat, and more than a few grunts. So endearing he was actually fighting a smile when he slid into the back seat.

She settled with a frown and a belly rub before she shot him a look through the aviators. Went brows up. Ranger angled in. "Why is he cuffed?" she asked him.

"Procedure."

"For your own brother?"

"I assume the family connection is why his hands are in front instead of behind his back connected to leg shackles." He signaled to Diaz and the Escalade pulled away.

"Where's he going?"

"Joining backup. They'll be keeping a healthy distance unless we need them. Eddie's contact is meeting us at a freight warehouse between here and Jackson. Man called Boris. He knows most of the particulars, but we'll need to fine tune the plan on site to account for variables. Probably best if you wait with Marco."

She cut another look to him in the back seat. "Okay, but if you cause any more trouble mister you'll be sorry."

Marco couldn't have hidden that smile if his life depended on it.

They took a dirt road detour before reaching the warehouse, finding a spot in a blind of trees. Parked and just sat there a while. Ranger was staring at the building through his binoculars. Watching a bunch of meatheads moving around like ants. What he was supposed to learn from that only god knew. Chaffed his fucking ass.

Stephanie was squirming too, both hands on the belly. Only moderately more patient than he was. Ranger cut her a look and made a nonverbal signal. Angled out of the car, leaving them alone.

They sat there a moment, acclimating to each other's silence.

"I don't suppose," Marco said to break it, lifting his cuffed hands.

"Oh. Sure."

She couldn't exactly turn around, so he stuck his wrists between the front seats. She unlocked the cuffs over the console. He gave them a rub over the tender lines and settled onto the edge of his seat, leaning forward enough to see her. "So what's the deal here? I know for a fact if Action Hero could do this without me he would."

"It was my idea to bring you. We're on our way to talk to a seller we found through Eddie's contacts. I figured this would go smoothest if we were all on the same page."

"And he just took your advice. Just like that."

"He's not as unreasonable as you seem to think he is."

Shook his head. "He's exactly as unreasonable as I think. Seems you're a special case." He watched her a minute, taking in the wholesome badass mom thing. She wasn't as incognito as Ranger. Black ballcap and aviators over the normal t-shirt and jeans. Looked like a minor celebrity trying to duck the paparazzi. Took him a second to notice the dull shine of the black band on her index finger. "Hold up. I know that's not what I think it is."

"What?"

He brushed a touch to the band, expecting her to flinch or recoil when he reached for her. Didn't budge. "I know my brother's taste when I see it. That's a men's wedding ring, in my brothers size. In fucking black, no less. You're not wearing that for fun."

The shift said she wasn't comfortable, but the stubborn chin said she was also unapologetic. "He asked me to marry him."

"And you said yes. Thought you weren't into marriage."

"I never said that."

"But you were the problem, right?"

She rolled her eyes again, leaning defensive against the door so she could front. "I would need to tell you a big long story for it to make sense."

"It makes sense plenty, he's making you an honest woman."

"That's not…" she began, biting her cheek to shortcut what she wanted to say. Took a patient breath with another rub to the belly. "I didn't want him to make me an honest woman. If I just wanted a husband to raise my baby with I could have run away with Morelli."

"Wait, who the hell is Morelli?"

Another eyeroll. "Point is I wanted a real relationship, like the open and honest kind. The have each other's backs and carry each other's burdens kind. And I wanted us both to be ready." Shrugged. "It just took some openness to find out we both already were."

He slumped back in his seat. "Damn. And just when I was starting to think my brother's life wasn't actually perfect."

"If you think Ranger's life is perfect, you're delusional."

"Oh yeah? Far as I can tell, he has everything he's always wanted. Cars. Money. Power. And now he has you. A woman he's actually in love with."

"If you knew how long and hard the road was to get here, you wouldn't be saying that. He had to earn everything he has the hard way, all while beating himself up for his mistakes. We spent so much time not being together because he was busy cleaning up his karma and couldn't see investing in a meaningful relationship with another human being as an option. So he lived alone with nobody but Tank in his life feeling unworthy of everything he could have ever wanted." She turned enough to look him right in the eye. "He gave up his two year old daughter when he was just twenty-three so that she could have a daddy who could be there for her every day. That was a sacrifice he made. For her. If you saw how much that killed him you would never ever say that his life is perfect."

That hung over them a tense moment, the air heavy enough to press his lungs.

Someone tapped on the window and Stephanie started just shy of a squeal.

Ranger.

He gestured for them to follow and Stephanie let out a sigh at the realization she'd have to move again.

Guess it was showtime.

ooo

Steph

The warehouse was swarming with shady guys in coveralls moving boxes and crates of inventory. I'd put money on Russian mob. No doubt the crates were full of guns. Eddie the arms dealer's contact Boris fit right in. Five foot ten, rough bearded face. I held my breath while he talked to the guy with the clipboard. Then he was shown into the building like an expected guest. Ranger figured that Dolohov would go to meet him in the armory, likely leaving his office in the back corner of the building unguarded. At least that was the hope. The warehouse wasn't wired with nearly as much security as it could have been. It was a temporary location, far outside of town. Explained why the FBI had trouble getting a fix on Dolohov's location. Didn't look like he made a habit of staying in one place.

Ranger made sure we kept to the woods on the walk around the building, listening to the transmitter in his ear. He knew when Dolohov was in the warehouse, picked the lock on the back door and waved me and Marco in. Opened the office door in seconds. He closed it behind them and scanned the room, considering a dozen angles at once. Pointed me to the chair behind the desk. "We want to get him alone, without his henchmen, so I need you to play honeypot."

"You don't think there could be something about me that might impede that goal?"

"If you keep the baby behind the desk, the batted eyes and flirty smile should be enough to get the attention of a lecherous underworld boss."

Cunning sexpot it was.

Ranger gave me a proud of you babe smile and backed Marco into the corner behind the door, blocking him. I could see from the tension in his face and posture that he was tracking his quarry through the earpiece. Nodded to me a second before the door opened.

The man who came in was white haired and soft. Bad skin. Ugly face. Somewhere between English bulldog and Jabba the Hut. He froze when he saw me behind his desk. His henchman said something in Russian and tried to intercede, but Dolohov waved him off. Dismissed both him and Boris and shut the door like he thought he was about to get lucky. "Who are you?"

"My name is Stephanie. I thought we could talk."

"How did you get in here?"

Ranger had shifted in front of the door just behind Dolohov's back, blocking the only escape.

"He let me in," I said with a gesture.

Dolohov turned and found himself face to face with Batman, Ranger disarming his shoulder holster so fast the man barely had time for his red face to pale. There was a whole lot of _oh shit_ all over it.

And then his eyes fell on Marco.

The red came back in the form of fury and Russian swearing. He jabbed a finger at Marco. "You fucking piece of shit! This is your fault!"

"I take it you know each other," Ranger said.

More Russian swearing. His bulging bulldog eyes swinging to Ranger. At least he was smart enough not to get in Ranger's face. "You have a lot of fucking nerve coming here. A death wish maybe. I could have this office flooded with men in seconds."

"Not likely. There weren't any other security measures on the premises. I doubt you took the time to wire this room with any kind of intercom or panic device. A downside to transient operations and limited funds."

"Limited funds, because of that fucking prick right there. You know what they do to fucking pricks where I come from? They cut off their fucking thief hands and their lying heads and they feed them to the fucking dogs."

Marco was a whole lot of not happy. "What the fuck, Carlos? You said we were meeting a seller, not this asshole."

"Asshole? _Asshole?_ You dare steal from me and burn me and now I'm the asshole?"

"Yeah. You're a fucking asshole."

Dolohov reached for the gun he no longer had and growled his frustration. "I should have fucking killed you when I had the chance. I hired you to move one shipment. One! Sight unseen, that was the deal! And what do you do? You fucking abandon it a half mile from an FBI office! My truck was swarmed in minutes. And now I've got cops so far up my ass I hear sirens when I take a shit!"

"Serves you right."

"Serves me right, eh? To be turned upside-down because one cowardly fucking backstabbing whelp dog has no respect for another man's merchandise?"

"It wasn't merchandise you fucking syphilitic sonovabitch, it was thirty fourteen-year-old girls!"

It felt like the air had been sucked out of the office. Or maybe that was just me. My eyes held with Ranger's and I could see it on his face too. He hadn't known. Holy cats.

Dolohov read the room and I could see him squirm. Turned up the bluster to try and get power back. Eyes on Ranger's stone cold glare. "What do you want?"

"Your buyer. I want to know how to find him."

"No."

"This isn't a polite request, Yuri. You either play ball or I make your life even more difficult than it already is."

"I don't see how that's possible."

"No? See, I have friends in the FBI office. I've read your file. Up to this point most of what they've had was circumstantial. But if Marco chooses to testify against you, that circumstantial case gets real serious real fast."

"That piece of shit would never risk his own freedom to see me in prison."

"Maybe not. Thing is, I have friends in high places. The DA. The mayor. The governor. Immunity in exchange for testimony is pretty much a given."

That time Dolohov didn't just turn white. He was a delicate shade of green. "If I give you what you want, will you leave me be?"

"Why don't you try it and find out."

It was easy to see when he realized there was no way out. Grunted. He moved toward the desk where I was sitting, his hand going for a drawer before his brain registered that the honeypot he'd been distracted by was unmistakably pregnant. I gave him a little finger wave.

"Steph. Would you like to find out what he wanted out of that drawer?"

Damn skippy. It wasn't lost on me that he snapped back to attention the second I inched it open. Then the air went out of him. No surprise that I found a Ruger in there with the burner phone. I held them up for Ranger to see.

"Has he provided an address for delivery yet?" Ranger asked him.

Deflated even more. "No."

"It was a call and I'll give you an address arrangement, right?"

From the glower that was a yes.

Ranger pocketed the phone. "Time to go, Babe."

Wait, that was it? Ranger held out his hand for me and I hoisted myself out of the chair. Trying not to let the surprise show in my glare as I waddled past the Russian. Ranger swept Marco out first, putting me between them on the way out. Didn't see anyone on the walk to the back door.

I couldn't believe we were just leaving! I bit my tongue until we were clear of the building. "That's it?"

"He's not FTA. We have no authority to take him into custody. And even if we did, it's not really a smart move when you're avoiding authorities yourself."

"But he'll get away!"

"No he won't," Ranger said, hitting the call button on his earpiece. "He's all yours."

I smiled. "You just called in the cavalry, didn't you?"

"Special Agent Jack Carson may have received a tip this morning about the location of Dolohov's entire operation. He'll be taking Dolohov and his men into FBI custody any second."

"And they'll have enough to hold him?"

"FBI has been building a case against Yuri Dolohov for the last eight years. Ever since one of his freight trucks turned up on the FBI doorstep loaded with underage girls from Eastern Europe. I figured if Carson took him in the midst of his operations, it would give them the hard evidence they need to put him away."

"And now they can add first hand testimony to that."

"Once we clear it with the DA."

"You didn't know that about Marco, did you?"

"No."

"Kind of changes things doesn't it?"

Ranger didn't answer.

ooo

Ranger

Diaz was waiting for them on the dirt frontage road. Ready to take Marco back to the Pine Barrens safe house. Steph had been unusually quiet. Like knowing Marco wasn't the complete asshole they thought he was had somehow changed him in her eyes. That had always impressed him about Steph. She could hold a grudge with the best of them. But underneath it, she was more interested in a person's heart than their past. Had an almost sixth sense instinct for the good in people. Ranger was usually pretty good at that too. But it was hard when it came to Marco. Too much bad blood had passed between them.

He left Steph in the Mercedes and waited for Marco to angle out. His brother gave him the pissy attitude and held out his wrists. A sarcastic offer to be cuffed again. Ranger suppressed the Steph-like urge to roll his eyes. Cut a glance toward the Escalade in a _go on_ gesture. Marco tried to hide the smirk and took up a slow walk. "So how long do I have to hang out with the dude our cousin dumped?"

"Long as it takes to neutralize Fenetti."

"Great. You know, I don't blame Carmen for divorcing his ass. Dude is boring as fuck."

"You always were eloquent."

"Know what his biggest mistake was?"

"Being boring as fuck?"

"No. It was keeping himself to himself til she cut bait realizing that was all she was ever gonna get." Ranger kept moving forward. But he saw it out of the side of his eye when his brother looked at him. Brief, but there. "You gonna screw this up too?"

"That does seem to be my habit."

"You know, you can strut around all you want with that cocky Zen bullshit and pretend you're above it all, but we both know you're not."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, that's so. That girl of yours is way too good for any of this and she's stuck it out with you anyway, pregnant no less, so that she can have your back. What the hell could you ever have done to deserve that?"

"One of life's mysteries."

Marco stopped in his tracks. "Carlos I'm serious."

Ranger paused. Turning to face his brother.

"Look. I don't know Stephanie. But I can tell she's good. Sweeter than most and strong as hell. Has to be to put up with your fucked up ass. She don't strike me as the type to expect the minivan and the white picket fence. And why she'd want you blows my fuckin' braincells. But she does, and you need to not screw that up with your brooding ego-driven nonsense."

"Such as?"

"Thinking she's too good for you."

"I know she's too good for me."

"Yeah, but that's beside the point."

"Great, are we done now? Because I don't really have time for this headgames bullshit."

"Jesus, Carlos. When the fuck did you get so cynical?"

"Around the time you were calling me princess and letting your friends beat me down even after I'd been jumped in. Or maybe it was when we jacked that car and you ran off and let me take the heat."

"Shoulda run faster."

"I shoulda ratted you out."

"Why didn't you?" Ranger finally looked at his brother. Saw it when understanding inspired a grin. "Shit. It was the same reason you came after me to Miami. Wasn't it."

"Don't make it sound like I was doing you a favor."

"Oh I won't. I'm smart enough to know it probly had more to do with Mom and Celia anyway. No way I ever given you a reason to want to help me."

"I help you because you're my brother. Family looks after family."

That shut Marco up. At least for a moment. Long enough to finish the walk back to the Escalade. Ranger opened the back door to encourage Marco to get in. Marco stood there. His eyes on their ex cousin-in-law where he still sat behind the wheel. Just out of earshot. "We're fucked up in a very large way, aren't we."

"Little bit."

A dry half smile. Colored by regret. "I know you joined the Army because of me."

"I joined the Army because it was what I was good at."

"Bullshit. You didn't drop outta college because it was hard. You never quit a hard thing in your life. You left because if you stayed one more day you were gonna kill me."

That wasn't inaccurate.

Marco shook his head. "You better not screw this up. That girl is so in love with you even I want it to work out, and I don't even like you."

Ranger didn't miss what looked to be affection shining in his eyes. "I plan on spending the rest of my life making sure she doesn't regret it."

"Good." Marco turned to climb in the Escalade and paused. "Who the hell's Morelli, anyway?"

"Why?"

"Your future wife said she considered running away with him."

"I doubt that's what she said."

"That's how it sounded."

Ranger had to concentrate to hide the amusement. "Stephanie's known him since they were kids."

"And they used to sleep together?"

Way more recently than Marco knew. "He's agreed to be a godparent."

Low whistle. "You're a more trusting man than me."

Marco climbed into the Escalade and Ranger shut the door.

Stood there hands on hips as he watched it drive away.

Fighting a smile.


	86. Chapter 86

AU of Plum Crazy

* * *

Chapter Eighty-Six

The drive was quiet on the way home, Steph letting him be in his zone. His black wedding band circling her finger were her hand rested on his over her thigh. He traced a line across her jeans with his thumb. Amused by the persistent silence. "Babe, I can smell your thoughts burning."

"I was just thinking."

"Should I call the fire department?"

"Ha ha." He shot her a smile and she rolled her eyes, rubbing the other hand across the belly. "I don't get it. Why didn't Marco say something about knowing Dolohov when we first brought him up? What he did was a good thing. Why would he want to keep that a secret?"

"It's complicated. Every choice we make in life comes with a consequence. It's the nature of the universe. We don't always know what the ramifications might be down the road. Could be he'd just realized that saving thirty teenage girls eight years ago is the reason Lupita Ortiz is dead."

"Jeez. I hadn't thought of that. He can't blame himself."

"He can. It wasn't the only choice he made that contributed to that outcome, and he wasn't the only one making choices. Loopy made her choices too. But that doesn't stop the doubt. The idea that if he'd done things different, lived a better life, she might have never been in danger." Ranger cut a brief look to her, his favorite person in the whole world, and felt the same bittersweet mix of hope and gravity he always did when their eyes met. Looked back to the road with a smile. "Can't say I'm wholly unfamiliar with the concept."

She blew out a sigh and shifted, trying to find a better position. "Good thing you got over that."

"I'm not over it, Babe. I've just got it in perspective."

"What did Marco say to you when you were walking back to the fleet car?"

He squeezed her thigh. "He was warning me not to screw this up."

"That's a change."

"I'm pretty sure that's the most civil thing he's said to me in years."

"Maybe he isn't quite the complete screw-up that we thought he was."

He could be generous enough to consider that. "He's made his mistakes. We all have. But it seems underneath it, he was at least trying to do right."

"I think the two of you have a lot more in common than either of you wanted to admit."

"Could be why he's rubbed me wrong for so many years. I didn't particularly like the man I used to be. I was egocentric. Close minded. Impulsive. All the things that our grandmother and the Army trained out of me and Marco seemed to have in spades. In a lot of ways, I saw him as my 'There but for the grace of God go I.'"

"And now?"

"Now I see that the damage I've earned isn't all that different from the damage he's earned. It's just that I've been fortunate enough to have people in my life that saw through it anyway and refused to give up on me. No matter how many times I tried to push them away."

"We're not talking about Tank, are we?"

The smile won. "No Babe. We're not talking about Tank."

"Connie?"

"You're such a smartass."

She flashed him a sassy grin and he laughed.

Ranger pulled in the Batcave garage and angled out, crossing to her side to help her out of her seat. Settled her on the couch with a soft kiss. "I'm going to make us some dinner, but if you're hungry now I've got smoked salmon and crackers you could have as a snack."

She didn't answer.

Shit.

He'd been so focused on Marco and Dolohov he hadn't been watching her carefully. He was sure as hell watching now. Both hands rubbing. Long, slow inhale through the nose. Eyes focused unseeing on the ground. He put a hand on the belly and felt the unmistakable tightness of a contraction. "Babe."

"I'm okay."

"That's not what your body says."

"They don't hurt. Val says it's not real labor if they don't hurt. She said she's had them as long as a few days to a couple weeks before delivery."

"Have you been timing them?"

"They're not regular. Sometimes ten minutes apart. Sometimes twenty."

"I should have driven you to Newark as soon as the shit hit the fan. You could have stayed with my family. Celia's a nurse. She would have looked after you."

She shook her head, still breathing. "I want to be where you are. I'm not going anywhere. Although I am really hoping it doesn't come to me giving birth here in the Batcave because I sort of had my heart set on an epidural."

Ranger kept hold of her until the hard tension eased again. A minute. Maybe less. Not enough to freak out over, but more than the Braxton Hicks. She was a ticking countdown clock. Their eyes held a moment before her phone chirped.

"You shouldn't answer that here. It's not a secure line."

"It's my mom's house. I have to answer it."

"Let her leave a message. If it's important you can return the call from one of the burners in the office."

She frowned at him, but she knew he was right. She looked a little guilty when she swiped it to voicemail. She stared at the phone until the message came in. Played it on speaker. "Stephanie, it's your mother," said with breathless joy. "I just got a call from Albert. Valerie's in labor. We're all heading down to the hospital now. I hope you and Ranger can meet us there. You're getting another niece!" And then she was gone.

Steph looked up at him, the thoughts plain on her face. He shook his head. "Not happening."

"Val's having her baby."

"You get off this couch you might be having ours too. As precious as it would be for cousins to share a birthday it's not a risk worth taking. If you want I'll have Tank send Hal to the hospital with a tablet set up to secure video chat, but that's the closest I'm letting you get."

She blew out another sigh, this time out of frustration. She hated knowing he was right. "Okay. But I want my snack to be something other than smoked salmon. Something in the peanut butter family. And for the record if I go into labor I'm blaming you for being too sexy. It was all the nipple stimulation and enzymes, I just know it."

He laughed. "Science says that's not actually a thing, but if you want to lay blame for how bad you want me I'm not going to argue." He kissed her sweet and hot, then gave her the television remote before he went to the kitchen. Made her a peanut butter and olive sandwich on worthless white bread.

Steph was snuggled up warm and safe against him when his phone vibrated on the bedside table the next morning. He wanted to ignore it. Not really an option. Only Steph and Tank had access to that number, and Tank didn't make social calls. Ranger reached around Stephanie to get to it, unwilling to let her go even a little. Good news or bad, she was his first priority.

He opened the line on speaker so Steph could hear too. Tank didn't wait for the unnecessary greeting. "We got a bite. As you suspected, the number linked to Dolohov's burner wasn't active when we called. Left a message that the goods were ready for delivery. Got a text back a few minutes ago. Silvio tried to trace it and came up empty."

"What did the text say?"

"Seems Fenetti intends to come to us."

"Makes sense. He doesn't want to be burned a second time. Meeting a seller on his own turf gives you the opportunity to case the area ahead of time. Control the circumstances. He give any indication he knows Dolohov spent the night in federal custody?"

"None. And he's expecting Dolohov to meet him personally."

"That could be a problem. If Fenetti's done his homework, he'll know if we bring a replacement. Might have to call Carson. See what strings can be pulled."

Tank acknowledged and disconnected. Steph looked at him. "What kind of strings?"

Ranger lifted her hand and kissed it. "The kinds that get us an arms dealer day pass." He kissed her lips. "Now my biggest question is what we need to do with you. I really don't want to drag you out if you're about to go into labor, but I'm also not comfortable leaving you here."

"I second that. I don't want to be here in the off the grid safehouse nobody knows about all by myself. I'd rather give birth in the Mercedes."

"It's not too late to have Tank drive you to Newark."

She shook her head.

"Alright. I'll text Dr. Weston and give him an update before I call Carson. If karma is on our side at all we'll get this wrapped up today and we won't ever have to face the what ifs of labor on the lamb."

ooo

Steph

Dolohov's warehouse was swarming with henchmen when we pulled up to the main parking lot. Ranger didn't bother with the blind in the trees, or the lengthy stakeout. Ranger knew what he was walking into. I was still pretty nervous. Ranger had said Carson arrested Dolohov and his men the day before. I was expecting the place to be shut down and empty. The current level of activity didn't look any different to me today than it did yesterday.

Ranger angled out of the Mercedes and came around to open my door for me. "Relax, Babe. These aren't Dolohov's men. They're mine."

"But I don't recognize any of them."

"You wouldn't. It would be too conspicuous to pull men off patrol around Trenton. No doubt Fenetti has his people watching mine. Probably expecting me to tip my hand when I'm ready to make a move. Most of the men here are from the Boston office."

"Smart thinking."

"It's not my first rodeo, Babe."

Carson was waiting for us in the warehouse, but Ranger opted to walk me back to the office where his men were setting up a makeshift bank of monitors, some of them already hooked up to the feeds both inside and out. Ranger motioned one of his men out of Dolohov's chair and wheeled it to me. "I want you on your ass through this, no exceptions. Preferably with your feet up. Are we clear?"

"What if I have to go to the bathroom?"

"Let me know and I'll assist."

"Jeez, this is embarrassing."

Hint of smile. "More or less embarrassing than pushing out a human with an audience?"

"Less. Definitely less."

Ranger thought I was amusing.

He gave me an earbud and turned my chair toward the monitor. "I'm going to go talk to Carson. Bobby's overseeing the monitors, so he'll be with you until I get back."

I took in the tall dark pillar of silence next to me and cut Ranger an unsure look.

"You met Bobby Brown the same day you met Lester Santos. Bobby's head of the Boston office," he said, like that made it better. He looked to Bobby. "See that she's never left alone."

Bobby nodded and Ranger left.

Boy. Not a single word. And I thought Tank wasn't a talker.

I fit the earbud into my ear and focused on the monitors. Carson was standing in the middle of the center monitor, Dolohov next to him. Carson was never one of my favorite people, but his usual asshat grumpiness was nothing compared to the look on Yuri Dolohov's face. The disgruntled glower of a muzzled mastiff.

Ranger came in from the bottom left corner and Carson chucked his chin in a dismissive greeting. "This plan of yours better work. I'm not happy about using a big fish to catch a minnow."

"If I'm right about Fenetti, he's anything but a minnow. Trenton PD has been looking at him for a number of homicides, in addition to everything from extortion to racketeering. At the very least we need him to admit orchestrating the deaths of Lupita Ortiz and two bikers at a bar outside of Newark."

"To get you and your pregnant girlfriend off the hook?"

"Jack, we both know there would have never been charges filed. But being wanted for questioning is a definite inconvenience when a mob-legend-wannabe is trying to kill you and your loved ones just to fit in his daddy's shoes. Stephanie may need a hospital visit very soon. If this doesn't end here and Fenetti backs us into a corner, I won't hesitate. I'd prefer that not happen. There's enough red in my ledger already."

"Remind me never to piss you off."

I couldn't see Ranger smiling, but I was pretty sure he was thinking about it. "Are we all set?"

"Yeah. I've got a half dozen agents in place, mixed in with your men. Most of whom look like they belong in a soviet prison, by the way. Where did you even find these guys?"

Ranger ignored the question. "And the wire?"

"It's crap, but it'll have to do. Budget cuts."

Ranger seemed to be expecting this. Reached into his pocket and produced an ear bud just like mine. "This will transmit to all coms, but it'll only receive from mine. I'll be able to provide prompts from the command center my man has set up in the office. I've also taken the liberty of installing a few motion detectors and exterior cameras to prevent an ambush."

"When did you have time to do that? This was a crime scene until a couple hours ago."

"It's what we do. What's Fenetti's ETA?"

"About an hour and a half from now."

"Means we should expect him any minute. If he's smart, he'll want to observe site activity before showing up at the front door. It's best he sees what he's expecting to see."

Carson nodded. Offered the ear bud to Dolohov. He was definitely pouting when he shoved it into his ear. Murmuring what I could only guess was a litany of Russian curse words. Ranger gave him a warning glare. "You don't want to screw this up."

"Fuck off."

"Yuri."

It had been a gentle reproof. But the steel underneath it was unmistakable. Ranger wasn't playing around. And Dolohov knew it. His ugly bulldog face wrinkled in even deeper disgust. "Sonovabitch. Fine. You want assurances? I give you assurances."

"You know what's at stake here."

"My freedom?"

"Sarcasm won't change the outcome."

"The outcome was supposed to be I tell you things and you leave me be. Instead I end up with this asshole." Dolohov cut a look to Carson. "Why should I do anything for you?"

"Because it'll get you extra protection in that nice comfy federal prison cell you're getting. Unless you'd rather be in gen pop with the enemies you've made over the years. Not to mention the other inmates. Lotta them don't appreciate the kind of man who would sell underage girls to the highest bidder."

Boy. And here I thought Dolohov couldn't frown anymore.

The line in my ear opened wider. "Sir, we've got incoming from the Northeastern road. I count four sets of headlights."

If he said anything else, I didn't hear it. The belly squeezes had been getting harder. Not exactly regular yet, but close. That one was hard enough to be uncomfortable, aching across my whole middle and into my back.

Oh boy.


	87. Chapter 87

AU of Plum Crazy

* * *

Chapter Eighty-Seven

Ranger

Steph was drumming her fingers on her belly in a steady rhythm. Shifting and grunting every few minutes failing to get comfortable. It was cute, but it was also worrying. He could see the stress. The fatigue. The way she was trying to hide it. She understood the stakes in getting this finished now and didn't want him distracted with worrying about her. As if that was an option. Fenetti's caravan had arrived over an hour ago. A sedan, an SUV and two cargo vans. The sedan and SUV had approached first. Watching as predicted to make sure nothing felt off. Steph drew in a long breath and let it out in a heavy sigh. A strong indicator her spidey senses were tingling.

"We got incoming," Murphy said in his ear.

Ranger nodded Steph toward the monitors.

A moment later a cluster of men came into camera view. Eight. Mostly beefed up henchmen who looked like they were packing heat. The guy in the center was leaner, thinning black hair and a shiny shirt reminiscent of Vinnie Plum.

Steph leaned closer, floored. "That's the guy who's been trying to kill us?"

"Takes all sorts, Babe."

"He doesn't look like he's standing up straight. Does he look injured to you?"

"Could be. The sniper who shot at us was hidden in a blind when Morelli and I were returning fire. Tank said they found blood at the scene. Research said Fenetti's an avid hunter."

"You think Wally Fenetti was shooting at you himself?"

"Given the evidence, I think it's very likely."

They watched on the monitor when Alek opened the warehouse door for their party guests. Following onto the main monitor. He might have expected some more bored snarky banter out of the love of his life, but she'd gone quiet again. Concentrating. He had to pull a good portion of his thoughts out of the hunt mode tunnel vision to assess her properly. Her breathing was steady. Only a hinting crease between her brows. She felt his eyes and cut him a look, darting those vivid blues back to the monitor. She wanted him to focus.

Fuck.

Fenetti didn't say a word as he approached Dolohov. Snapped his fingers and his men moved in to open the crates in unison. He looked over the cache of weapons and selected a 9 mill to examine it. Cocked it to check the smooth action. Seemed pretty satisfied. "Is it all here?" he asked his right hand man.

The guy was walking up and down the crates checking inventory. He nodded.

"I double checked it myself yesterday," Dolohov said, cutting a glare at Carson. "If it wasn't all still there, someone would catch a bullet."

Didn't specify that the bullet catcher would likely be him.

"Ask him what he wants the guns for," Ranger prompted. Dolohov ignored him. Not a smart move. Only person who ever got away with defying him was Stephanie. He let the tense silence sink in a beat. "You do understand the consequences for noncompliance."

Contempt deepened Dolohov's frown and he drew in a harried breath. "This is a lot of merchandise. I'm curious what you plan to do with it."

"That ain't none of your business," Fenetti warned.

"Arms are exactly my business. There are only two reasons a man buys this kind of weaponry. Either he's arming for something or against something. Either way, I like to know what goes on in my yard. And if it will affect my profits."

"Meaning you want to know who else you need to sell guns to before things go down?"

"Meaning I like to make sure I stay out of the way."

Fenetti eyed him a second before he laughed. "Smart. That's pretty smart. Wouldn't want to be stepping on toes, right? Wouldn't want to get caught in the crossfire."

"Ask him about the girl, Lupita Ortiz."

Dolohov ground his teeth to bite back another round of swearing. "Speaking of crossfire. The first one to bring me this list was a woman."

"Is that so."

"You were unaware?"

Fenetti set down the 9 mill and picked up a shotgun. Started fiddling around with it. Ignoring the question.

"Keep pressing," Ranger said.

"That's surprising you would be unaware. You seem to me a man who knows things."

That time Fenetti cut him a look. Flattery was a universal tool. Fenetti racked the shotgun and lined up the sight on Carson. "I get around."

"Then you heard she was found dead?" Dolohov said, watching Fenetti move on to an M16. "Such a shame, really. Beautiful girl like that."

"Yeah, well maybe she shoulda chosen her accomplices more carefully."

"Can't trust anyone these days." Dolohov glared up at the camera. "I'd have had my men shoot her too if she'd screwed me that way."

Fenetti's eyes swung to Dolohov. "What do you know about it?"

"I know the girl arranged a deal that fell to shit. Makes sense that you would have her shot and leave another to take the blame. Send a message to the good-for-nothing sonovabitch without getting your hands dirty."

"You think I can't get my hands dirty? Do you know who I am?"

"No and I don't give a shit."

"What, like you ain't never heard of The Whistler?"

Dolohov shrugged. Didn't go over well with Fenetti.

"My father was famous. So prolific the cops chased him for years with nothing to show for it. My old man wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty. Someone needed whacking he did it himself. Made sure the job was done right."

"And you're a chip off the old block, is that it?"

"Yeah. That's it."

"So you did the Loopy girl yourself."

"Put a bullet right between her eyes."

"And the men outside the bar in Newark?"

Fenetti stared his cold black eyes right at Dolohov. "They got in the way."

"I fucking hate assholes who get in the way," Dolohov said, cutting another look at the camera. "Liars and thieves. All of them."

Fenetti was shifting. His eyes darting around the warehouse. "Biggest pain in my ass is a man they call Manoso. I've shot at him twice. And I'm a decent shot. It's like this guy's made of air. Asked around. Seems he's got a reputation, too. Like he's the boogeyman or the big bad wolf."

Dolohov swallowed.

"You're sweatin' an awful lot."

It was true. His forehead was glistening with the upper lip and jowls. His beady bulldog eyes just a little too shifty. He humphed. "I don't believe in boogeymen."

"Maybe he's not the boogeyman. But he is cunning. And resourceful. And you've been just a little too curious for my taste."

Shit. This was going sideways.

"I only said—"

That's as far as Dolohov got before Fenetti pulled out a gun and shot him.

The pop broke the air and the warehouse erupted. Feds and mobsters and Rangeman all diving for cover at once. Bobby Brown hit the door in an instant. Ranger right behind him. He barely had the thoughts to order Steph to stay put.

Chaos had scattered their advantage by the time he and Bobby made it to the action, his injured shoulder bitching as he raised his gun. He could see at least three of Fenetti's men bleeding on the ground. Couple feds sheltering behind a crate of guns. Bullets singing through the air from all sides as the few who were still in the center of the floor ran for cover. He couldn't see any hint of the godawful shiny shirt Fenetti was wearing. He locked eyes with Carson and caught a nonverbal signal. Took out two more of Fenetti's men who'd been trying to approach from the rear. The room was a haze of gun smoke when the shots finally cleared, the last two gunmen flanked between Alek and Bobby. Still no sign of Fenetti. There wasn't any way out of the warehouse except the way they'd come in.

And the way out the back past the office.

The realization hit him like a shotgun blast to the gut.

Not only had they lost Fenetti.

They'd left Stephanie unguarded.

In labor.

Fuck.

ooo

Steph

I might have protested in theory when Ranger shouted the order at me to stay put, but in practice I wasn't stupid. Leaving the office meant getting shot at. I don't like getting shot at on my best of days. Not to mention the contractions had gone from mild pressure every ten to twenty minutes to grunt worthy every seven. I was praying everything I'd heard about first babies taking a long time was accurate, because I wasn't prepared to give birth all by myself in the middle of a warzone.

It was terrifying to follow the action on the computer screen. Men were falling. Bleeding. Hiding. Bullets flying with the cracking pops like it was freaking fourth of July. I saw a figure break from the fray, barreling for the hallway toward my office, maybe going for the back door. His lean body limping heavy on one side.

Fenetti.

I held my breath waiting for someone, anyone, to notice he'd slipped past, but beyond him the battle kept raging. And all the while I could hear Fenetti's greasy heavy breathing getting closer and closer, eye of the tiger focused on escape. Cripes! He was going to get away!

I don't know if it was particularly brave, or if it was just plain stupid. But I stood and shoved my office chair out in to the hallway. Fenetti didn't have time to stop. He tumbled ass over teakettle, crumpling into a tangled pile of human and chair. We both saw it when his gun skittered out of his hand and under the desk. Then his eyes locked with mine.

There was no way I could bend down to retrieve the weapon, and it didn't matter anyway. Fenetti rolled and swore and extricated himself from the chair, holding the gunshot wound in his side as he limped broken and bleeding for the door. His pants were ripped. His shirt torn at the shoulder. His gait so tender I could only guess he'd sprained an ankle or a knee or both. And yet he kept going, desperate to get away and with no one but me knowing it.

"It's rude to make a pregnant lady chase you!" I hollered after him.

He didn't stop.

Motherfucker.

If there had been literally anyone else watching us it would have been a ludicrous sight. The skinny, battered son of a mob legend hobbling at one mile an hour away from the lumbering pregnant woman. Like two snails racing each other. Even shuffling made the belly bounce so hard I felt like something was going to pop loose. He kept cutting looks behind him with such disbelief that you'd have thought he was being chased by a shaved bear on a unicycle. I held my belly tighter and pushed just a little harder, catching up enough to give him a shove to throw him off balance. He scuffed to the parking lot floor and I dropped onto his shoulders to hold him down, both of us panting so hard he was lucky I didn't collapse right on him. I heard the metal on metal clicking of doors behind me just as another contraction hit.

"Oh jeez! Are you…" Fenetti said.

Then my water broke all over him.

Hands scooped me up from all sides, even more catching hold of Fenetti as he rolled traumatized on the ground. "Babe," Ranger said in my ear.

"My water just broke."

"I can see that."

"He didn't get away though."

"I can see that too."

"Are you laughing?"

He didn't answer.

"You are!"

"There are several ambulances enroute. I've already called to make sure one is ready for you."

"What happened in the warehouse?"

"The firefight was pretty much over by the time Fenetti hit the back door. His men are being taken into federal custody, likely to be handed off to PD to face charges. Carson's got a bus coming for Dolohov too, but I'm pretty sure the lucky bastard got away with a flesh wound."

"Bummer."

"That he was shot or that it was only superficial?"

I didn't think it would make me sound like a good person to answer that.

Ranger grinned at me anyway. "How far apart are they now?"

"Six minutes," the tightening tried to steal my breath. "Maybe four."

He nodded to the man next to him. "Have Alek bring my car to St. Francis in Trenton. I'll be in the ambulance with Miss Plum. If there are any problems, call Tank. I'd send him, but he'll likely want to meet us at the hospital."

"I'll get it handled," Bobby Brown said.

Huh. Guess he does have a voice.

Flashing lights were approaching in the distance.

"Ready Babe?"

"Um…"

Ranger smiled, brushing a tender kiss to my lips. "You've got this, Steph. And I've got you."

I let out the nervous breath in a rush.

Wasn't like I had a choice.

Cripes.


	88. Chapter 88

AU of Plum Crazy

* * *

Chapter Eighty-Eight

Ranger

Watching the approaching flash on an ambulance wasn't nearly as comforting when waiting with a pregnant woman in labor. Steph had two more contractions in the time it took to reach them. An even four minutes apart. He couldn't do anything but hold her where she'd crouched down to wait them out, coaxing her to breathe as he sheltered her with his body.

He flagged the bus down when it neared, the paramedics angling out to retrieve the gurney from the back. Steph was lifted onto it, and then she was strapped down and raised up so she could be loaded in. The paramedic tried to stop him with a _family only_ line when he tried to climb onboard, but the medic backed off mid word when he saw the look Ranger gave him. Probably swallowed everything he was thinking of saying the rest of the year.

Ranger buckled into the jump seat and the medic tapped the wall to signal they were ready to roll. Steph squeezed his hand. He leaned as close as he could to help her focus through another contraction. "They're getting worse."

"That's normal, Babe. Everything is happening like it's supposed to."

"Is it too early for an epidural?"

"That would be a hard yes."

He could see she wanted to sass him until the pain sucked her sense of humor away.

"Just hang in there, Babe. We'll be there before you know it. And then I'll get you an anesthesiologist even if I have to do it at gunpoint." The medic shot him a look of alarm and Ranger gave him a headshake to let him know he was joking. Not entirely sure the medic bought it.

"Shit," she murmured when she could relax again, sweat dotting her brow. "Whatever you do don't leave me, okay? I don't care what anyone says."

"I'm not going anywhere Steph, that's a promise."

"Oh! And you have to call Lula and Connie. They thought I would go into labor and not tell them and I can't do that to them. You have to call them. And my parents. And Morelli. You have to call everyone."

"I'll get someone on it."

She got quiet again. Measuring her breaths with her eyes shut. Too early for another contraction. He got worried she might be progressing faster than they thought, but after a second a tear squeezed from her eye. "What if I can't do this?"

"Babe I've seen you risk life and limb tackling men twice your size. You took a job chasing felons for fun."

"I took it because I wanted to keep eating and liked having a roof over my head."

"But you kept it when you didn't have to because you thought it was fun. Face it, Steph. You're hardcore."

"Am not," she said, hint of smile pulling at her mouth.

"You are and it's sexy as hell. I know it hurts way worse than the gunshot wound in my shoulder, but remember this pain you're feeling is productive. It's working toward something. In just a few short hours it'll all be over and you'll not only be able to rest, you'll have a baby to show for it."

He heard it when the driver asked the medic to clarify if he'd really said gunshot wound.

Steph got quiet again, hand squeezing, breathing in and out like they'd practiced. "You promise you'll tell them, right?" she said, rubbing her belly through the worst of it. "Please?"

"Yeah Babe. I'll tell them. I promise."

ooo

Morelli

There are fewer things more surreal than getting a text from your ex's new fiancé that they're heading to the hospital to have their baby. Only thing that beats it is knowing that child was going to look up to you like family. If someone had told Morelli a year ago that he'd not only be accepting of this but looking forward to it, he'd've punched them right in their dumbass faces.

Guess it was a good thing he was a cop and not a fortune teller.

The emergency room waiting area was already littered with men in black when he arrived. Guys he recognized from Stephanie's Rangeman details every time she'd been even remotely in danger. With them was a petite little firecracker in matching uniform he could only guess was the magic housekeeper Steph was always talking about. Tank got there not long after, Lula in tow. Chucked his chin toward Morelli before he saw her to a seat and joined him. "You ready?"

"Is that a real thing?"

Tank grinned.

"Speaking of things," he said, cutting a look to Lula. "You giving it another shot?"

"Maybe."

"And the cats?"

Tank looked at him funny. Like he should be surprised Morelli knew. Steph was unbelievably nosey and equally as chatty. Morelli knew more about what went on with her circle than most in the circle did. Tank's surprise passed after a second. "She's gonna try an allergy shot. I'm hoping my babies'll grow on her if she's not sneezing all the time."

Morelli had to smile at a six and a half foot mountain of muscle referring to cats as his babies. Sharing godfather duties with him might not be as weird as he thought. "I hope it works out this time. You both deserve to be happy."

He might have sworn there was a hint of pity in Tank's eyes, but then he wasn't looking all that hard. Tank held up a hand and they bumped fists, doing the guy thing. Then Tank wandered back to Lula.

He watched every one of Stephanie's loved ones gather in the waiting room over the next hour. Connie, Mary Lou, Eddie Gazzara and his wife Shirley. Her family was taking turns, floating between the waiting room and Val and the baby upstairs. Frank had happily taken up residence in the far corner of the room where there was a television. Edna taking the seat next to Lula.

It was hard to miss it when Ranger's family arrived from Newark. If Steph hadn't told him the sheer size of Ranger's family he never would have believed it. They filtered in in groups of five and eight. Musta been a freaking caravan. A middle aged woman with sharp eyes and a no nonsense face in the lead, a plump little white haired granny right behind her, followed by what he had to guess were sisters and cousins and nieces and nephews and aunties and uncles…

Damn. There were a hellova lot of people who loved Ranger.

Morelli was long past the bitterness and jealousy, but there were still the odd moments when he found himself sad for the future he'd always counted on and lost. He knew it wasn't anybody's fault. The moment Steph had met Ranger her life had been destined to change. He'd helped to set her on a path to the adventure she'd always craved. It had brought her closer to Morelli for a while. Gave her the excitement and the focus she needed to keep up with him. But it hadn't taken long for her to outgrow what he could offer, adventure-wise. And the truth was as much as he would always love her, they hadn't ever been compatible for the long term. They were too similar. What she'd needed was someone steady to balance her impulses. Calm to match her passion. Someone patient enough to wait her out until she was ready to have more in her life.

Maybe that was something they both needed.

He stepped away from the frenzy and found a quiet corner by the coffee machine. It was crap coffee, but crap coffee was better than being eaten by his own thoughts. He fed it some quarters and waited while the paper cup ticked down, gushing scalding watered down liquid into it with the sweetened cream. He felt the prickle of someone coming a second before the door opened, the energy and sweet scent reading female. He picked up his cup and shifted out of the way for her. His eyes meeting the magnetic deep brown wells of the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen in his life.

She was wearing bright red lipstick. Her straight dark brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. Something about her features and creamy mocha skin tickled the recognition filters on his brain, but for a second it was impossible to do anything but stare. Her mouth twitched in an almost smile. "Hi."

"Hi."

The almost smile lifted to a half smile. She turned to the machine. "I understand why they go with the vending machines, but just once I'd like to be in a hospital that invested in a good espresso machine."

"Spend a lot of time in hospitals?"

"You could say that."

Damn. The tired way she said it made him realize what that might mean. "I hope you don't—"

"Oh no, sorry. I _work_ in a hospital. I'm an ER nurse."

"Ah."

"What about you? You look like you know your way around a coffee vending machine."

"Cop," he said with a _guilty as charged_ tone. "I'm a homicide detective."

"That's gotta be hard."

"It is what it is. I work long hours sometimes, and it's not exactly pleasant seeing the aftermath of a gang shooting at three in the morning. But I don't do it for me."

"I know what you mean. Somedays it's hard to see the awful things that people are capable of doing to themselves and each other. I have to remind myself sometimes that there's good too. Even when it's not always easy to see."

Joe felt his chest warm a little. Not a lot of people understood that. "So you're obviously not working today. Probably safe to assume you didn't come in for the coffee."

Her laugh was damn near musical. "Better. My brother and his girlfriend are having a baby. A bunch of us never thought it would happen for him, but here we are. What about you?"

"I'm waiting on a baby too. I'm gonna be a godfather." He watched her lift the filled paper cup to her lips and the familiar features slid into place. "You're related to Ranger."

"I'm his sister, Celia. How do you know Ranger?"

"That's a long and complicated story."

"Short version?"

"He's marrying my ex."

She choked on her coffee.

"Jesus," he said, handing her a napkin. "Sorry I didn't mean for that to spring on you."

"It's okay. God, it's better than okay. Shit, why does he never tell me these things?"

"In his defense it just happened a couple days ago. I'm not sure they've told anybody yet." Christ. "Don't tell Stephanie I told you."

"Wait. So how did you go from ex to godfather?"

He shrugged. "Stephanie and I go way back."

"You're right, that does sound complicated."

The grin and head shake was the closest he could get to not rolling his eyes. Smartass. "Maybe I should buy you a new cup of coffee and tell you the whole story."

"I do like stories," she said, looking him over in a damn flattering way. Then the smile faltered, her eyes cutting to the waiting room. "I would need to check in with my mom first. She's watching my girls."

"You have daughters?"

She nodded. Watching for his reaction. "Eleven and nine. They're the best things in my life."

He could read the hesitation all over her. She assumed just knowing she had kids would be a deal breaker. Meant it had been in the past. Douchbags. How anyone could dismiss a woman like her because she was a mom was beyond him. Being wary of dating Ranger's sister he understood, but a mom? A man'd have to be a moron.

"I hear first babies take a while. We probably have time to take your girls to the cafeteria and get real food, if you want. I'm sure I could make the story sound PG if I'm creative."

She laughed, lighting him up with all 200 watts of that amazing smile. "I'd like that."

ooo

Steph

There are some moments that change everything. Moments so important you can't even remember how you could stand life before them. This was one of mine. Whole body shaking from adrenaline and exhaustion. The strong, steady pressure of Ranger's chest against my back. The most beautiful, messy, goo covered bundle of love I'd ever seen resting warm and squirming on my chest. It was the first time in my whole life I understood love at first sight.

"It's a boy," I heard the doctor say, and I burst into tears.

"He's amazing," I breathed. "We did it. We actually made a person."

" _You_ did it, Babe," Ranger said in my ear, holding me close. "He's perfect."

"Ten fingers ten toes," Doctor Weston agreed. "Does Dad want to cut the cord?"

I couldn't believe someone had just called the Big Bad Wolf Dad.

Ranger kissed my temple and took the claw-like scissors from Doctor Weston, clipping between the clamps. The nurse assessed him, making sure he was as perfect as he looked before she took him to the warming table to wash the goo off. I couldn't take my eyes off him. He looked so much like Ranger. Café latte skin and full head of wispy dark hair. He was everything I'd dreamed he'd be and more. The nurse finished cleaning him and attached a hospital band to his ankle that matched mine and Ranger's, wrapping him in a blanket to lay him in his daddy's strong arms.

The two most important men in my life.

Ranger leaned over and pressed a long kiss to my forehead. If I didn't know better, I might have sworn there was a shine in his eyes. "I love you Stephanie," he whispered, kissing my lips. "You will never stop amazing me."

"Then I guess that makes us even," I said, not nearly able to hide my emotions. Not when our eyes held and I knew for certain. The shine I saw were tears. He smiled and pressed his forehead to mine.

This was everything he had ever wanted.

We got a long moment together as a family while the doctor finished and everything was cleaned up. Doctor Weston left us with his congratulations. Then the nurse told us how many people were in the waiting room. We allowed the essential mothers and grandmothers in, but waited until we were moved to a private room before we let in the rest. The parade of family and friends felt endless. After a while the flood dwindled until it was just family. My parents and Grandma and Val, Tank and Lula, Ranger's family including his sisters. I was even surprised to see Morelli standing with Celia, the looks between them tingling my instincts in all the best ways.

"Since you're all here, we should probably tell you something," I said, marveling at the squishy love of my life nestled sweetly against my chest. Ranger cut me an amused look, eyes crinkled. "We've discussed it and we've decided to get married in the fall."

There were a predictable number of squeals and _I knew it_ s and respectable amount of happy dances. Only Celia didn't look surprised. She just exchanged another look with Joe with a secret little smile. "Have you picked a date?" my mother's voice surfaced. "We need to reserve the hall, and pick out flowers, and find a dress. There's so much to do and not much time."

"You could use my wedding planner!" Val offered.

I was about to say no without hesitation, since Val's wedding planner had been a perfectly lovely but not at all coordinated drag queen who'd tried to put me in a dress that looked like an eggplant, but Ranger beat me to it. "I'll be hiring a seasoned professional who will handle everything from top to bottom. Stephanie doesn't need to be stressing over wedding details with an infant at home."

"But I still get to pick things out, right?" I asked him.

Ranger smiled. "Yes, Babe. Think of it like the wedding version of room service."

Ooh. Room service was my fifth favorite thing behind the baby, Ranger, birthday cake, and sex with Ranger.

"So what do I do?" my mother asked us.

I had no idea what to say so I looked at Ranger. I was amusing him again. "You can start compiling names and addresses for reception invitations. Stephanie can let you know when and if she needs further assistance."

She seemed to be happy with the busy work, and I sent Ranger a telepathic thank you for getting her off my back. I love my mother, but if she was in charge I would be dragged down to the bridal shop the moment I was released from the hospital so that we could order my wedding gown.

There was a lot of banter and laughing after that, our two families getting accustom with each other. My mother and Mama Manoso got along great, talking everything from the wedding to how many babies Ranger and I should have, Ranger's younger sisters fawned over Valerie and her baby as much as they fawned over mine, and though Grandma Rosa seemed to think Grandma Mazur had a screw or two loose, she seemed to find her funny in a Telenovela sort of way. There was even a big cheer when it was remembered that Morelli had Saturday in the Plum Baby pool. I was spent by the time visiting hours were over and it was time for them all to leave. All of them kissing me and the baby and Ranger on the way out. Morelli held out a hand to Ranger for that complicated male bonding fist bump thing, Tank gave us a proud nod, and then we were alone again as a happy little family.

I was tired but glowing. Admiring my little man's tiny fingers as he sucked his fist. "That went pretty well."

Ranger nodded. "Better than I would have expected. Even if Morelli does have a crush on my sister."

"You saw that?"

"Kind of hard to miss, Babe."

"And?"

Ranger shrugged. "Celia's more than capable of making good choices, and Morelli's not a terrible option. What would you say if she asked your advice?"

"I'd say he sometimes has to work nights and he has a sucky job, but as far as being relationship material he's pretty okay as long as you're responsible enough to remember to buy bread."

"That's one thing they'd have going in their favor. Celia breathes responsibility. She's been both mother and father to her girls since they were one and three. They're the center of her universe. Do you think Morelli would be able to handle that?"

"Yeah. I think he could. I could actually see Morelli being an okay stepdad. I've always gotten the impression Morelli plans on having a family someday, and he's pretty good with his nieces and nephews. And he loves Bob with his whole heart. Bob's a mess."

"A few flirty glances and you're already adding him to my family? Are you sure it wouldn't be weird if the guy you used to be almost engaged to was suddenly your brother-in-law?"

"You mean weirder than him being the godparent of my child?"

"You have a point."

I smiled, letting the baby draw my gaze again in what I knew was sappy adoration. "Joe's one of the best people I know, and he has a huge heart. It would make me really happy if he could find someone to be happy with. He deserves that."

Ranger didn't say anything in answer, but I could tell that he agreed.

The baby started fussing a little, whimpering a cry that sounded like "Neh."

"He's hungry," Ranger said.

"How can you tell?"

"The N. It's from his tongue sucking the roof of his mouth."

I opened the front of my hospital gown and tried what the lactation consultant had told me, but I couldn't get him to latch. "What is wrong with me?"

"Nothing, Babe. He just needs to open his mouth bigger to get a proper seal. His lip's getting in the way." Ranger put his finger on the baby's chin and pressed gently. "Try dragging the nipple down before you stuff it in."

"You say such romantic things to me."

"Just try it smartass."

I did and it worked like a miracle. I shot him a _we did it!_ smile and he laughed at me, settling onto the edge of the bed beside me, arm around my back while he traced the baby's silky dark hair with his fingertips. He leaned down to brush a kiss to his head. "We never settled on a name."

"Well, we're obviously not naming him Mildred now, so that's off the table."

"Babe, that was never on the table."

"Yeah, but now it's official."

Ranger laughed softly, kissing my ear. "There are the family names. Ricardo, after my dad. Francis after your father."

"You want to name our baby Frank?"

"Not really, but it didn't seem fair to leave it off. If he'd been a girl I would have suggested your middle name, Michelle. We could go with Michael."

It had always touched me that Ranger knew my middle name. "Michael could be okay. But I really want to call him Carlos."

Ranger looked at me, amused eyebrow raised.

"What? Isn't that normal to name a kid after his father? And it's not like you're using it. Everyone calls you Ranger. The only person who'll make it sound confusing is your mother."

Ranger stopped my talking when he kissed me. The heartfelt kind that involved just a little tongue. He pressed his forehead to mine. "Babe."

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes."

"Okay. So that's Carlos. Michael. Manoso?"

"Carlos Michael Manoso."

"And when we get married I'll be Stephanie Manoso."

Smile. "You know how much I like it when you have my name on you. But I might miss the Plum if you dropped it entirely. How about Stephanie Plum Manoso?"

And here I didn't think the warm fuzzies could get any better. "I like it."

Ranger was the happiest I'd ever seen him when he brushed a gentle kiss to my lips. "So do I."


	89. Epilogue

Epilogue

6 months later

There are people who would assume becoming a wife or a mother would stop the felon chasing adventure and heart pumping adrenaline of my bounty huntering profession.

Those people would be wrong.

Having lived with Ranger for a whole year, through most of my pregnancy and as a fresh new family, I could attest that there wasn't much that he thought needed slowing down. Ranger understood the seductive draw of adrenaline and danger. It was something we understood in each other that no one else could. Bonded us on a fundamental level. I definitely took some time off after giving birth so that I could enjoy my sweet mini Carlos and all his deliciousness, but when the itch for excitement started again, my wonderful fiancé provided every kind of support a girl could possibly ask for.

No that didn't mean I went bounty hunting with a baby strapped to my chest, as much as he would have loved it. When Ranger was working and I needed to knock on doors or pick up criminals, my mother would watch Carlos for an hour or two. Or an eager Ella. And Connie was always more than happy to keep him at the office when she didn't need to worry about bonding people out. And on very rare occasions when Lula and I needed to do a stakeout, Carlos would come along complete with one of Ranger's Merry Men so that he could pick up the bad guys if they showed while I was nursing. All in all it was a system that worked pretty well. I still ended up rolling in garbage sometimes, but at least I had people I loved more than life itself to come home to after, and that took a lot of the sting out of it.

It had taken a couple weeks to clear up the mess involving Ranger's brother and Wally Fenetti, but as soon as it was certain there wouldn't be any charges filed, Ranger brought his brother back home from the safe house he'd been staying in. I wouldn't say the relationship between them was fixed by any stretch, but there had been a dramatic drop in hostility levels. A little more understanding and I was certain they might even find a truce eventually.

Ranger made good on his promise to hire the most amazing wedding planner he could find. She was a Professional with a capital P. Showed up in a Rangeman conference room two weeks after we brought baby Carlos home from the hospital, fully prepared with albums full of halls and dresses and cakes. All I had to do was flip through and tell her what I liked so she could figure out what got me excited. I didn't have to call any florist or book any DJs. I did however go with her to several bakeries. Let's be honest. The only thing better than birthday cake is wedding cake. There was no way I was missing out on tasting every possible kind of cake there was.

My mother, Val and Grandma went with us to watch me pick out my dress. It wasn't the flustered rush of the last time my mother dragged me to the bridal shop. No pressure of being stuffed into a dress whether I was ready or not. I was ready. With all the happy squishy good feelings that came with that. This also made the fittings less painful, so that by the time I was in the bridal room at the church, being zipped and tied and polished and veiled, the only butterflies I was feeling were the ones about being stared at by every person who was important to me.

"It's natural to have a few jitters about getting married," the wedding planner told me, fluffing the veil out behind me with a professional flare. "It's just your body's way of processing excitement."

"I'm not nervous about marrying Ranger. It's more being afraid that I'm going to trip on my dress and fall flat on my face in front of an entire congregation of people."

The wedding planner smiled. "That's what the sneakers are for."

This was true. I learned that lesson when I had to run during Amanda Kinsey's wedding. As a matter of record, if there's even the slightest chance you might be bridenapped by a psychopathic arsonist, you do _not_ want to be in high heels.

I lifted the edge of my white silk skirt and the delicate sheer layer of accented lace that lay on top of it and looked at the pale scuffed edge of my broken in old running shoes.

God bless sneakers.

Lula bustled over, looking every inch herself in her fitted black bridesmaid dress. It was sleeveless, allowing all that glorious brown skin and voluptuousness to breathe, and even though it was floor length and lacked the barely there flare of her usual short skirts, it did have a poison green sash at the waist that matched the green mums in her bouquet of white roses and star magnolias, and her smoothed back puff of poison green hair decorated with a black ribbon and hints of white flowers. Her nails were green too, and sparkly to boot. Lula could take a pallet and make coordination look like child's play. "Don't worry girl, I got you. If you get scared with all them eyes on you you just tell yourself they're starin' at Lula. I mean it's not every day people get treated to this level of fabulousness. Although when it comes to my Tankie I'm pretty sure that'll all be true. The man gets goo goo eyes when he looks at me, what can I say?"

"I'm not gonna lie. That does make me feel better."

"Me too! Mmmhn. Who woulda thought we could both get our happily ever afters at the same time?"

The odds were pretty staggering considering the way my life had gone. But then, in some ways it felt way overdue. It had taken me a long time to let myself be comfortable with the idea of the Man of Mystery. And now here I was. Marrying him. It was still pretty hard to believe.

My mother and grandmother were watching me with a glow verging on tears, dressed in navy and lavender respectively with white flowers on their lapels. Val was in a vivid pink. Mama was there too with all of her girls. Each of them wearing a different jewel tone that popped against the soft blacks and silvers of the wedding. Baby Carlos was the only one in that room who was in black. A darling tuxedo for my darling man, complete with black bowtie over his pleated white shirt. He was so edible I had to resist kissing lipstick marks all over him. Then I remembered that my wedding planner was a Professional and had insisted on smudgefree lipstick, so I kissed his precious baby face until he giggled.

I didn't start getting nervous again until my family took him to find their seats and Lula and I were left alone. Waiting for the signal that would lead to the big moment. I looked down at the ethereal white fabric of my classy sheath dress and suddenly felt like an imposter. "Are you sure I don't look ridiculous?"

"You look beautiful. And it's not just the dress and the fancy hair and flowers. It's on the inside. You're shining."

I hugged her and we crushed each other as tight as we dared, laughing when we had to straighten Lula's bodice and my veil. And then the wedding planner was back telling us it was time. I took a deep breath and followed Lula to the vestibule where Angie, Mary Alice and Julie were already waiting, each of them dressed in sweet bright jewel tones with black shrugs and sashes, complete with a bouquet that had touches of each color mixed with the white. The music vamped and my junior bridesmaids started walking. Mary Alice was in the lead because she was the smallest, then Angie, and then Julie. She cut me a happy smile before she started down the aisle toward her father.

Ron and Rachel had brought all their children up for the wedding, but they'd let Julie stay with Ranger and me in the days before so that she could get to know her little brother. This had also meant getting to know her father better. I'd asked Ella to expand the usual breakfast fare to include chocolate chip pancakes and maple sausage, and I took her to the Batcave while Ranger was working so that we could poke around in his old things. Julie was touched to find the album of her life tucked away in his closet. She'd never understood until he'd shown it just how important she was to him. And I could tell by the easy way he smiled that it made him happy to finally have his whole family under one roof.

I watched Julie walk slowly down the aisle. Lula flashing me a wink before she started off too. And then I stood there in the doorway as the organ vamped again and the entire congregation stood as one to face me.

Oh jeez.

There were so many eyes on me I swallowed. Family members I'd never met on Ranger's side. Cousins I suddenly couldn't remember the names of on mine. Grandma Plum and Auntie Mim were standing behind Vinnie. Connie with my sister Val. I even caught a glimpse of Marco between his mother and sisters, standing there in a black suit looking almost reputable. My breath unsqueezed a little when I saw Joe standing with Celia, her girls on either side and the brand new engagement ring on her finger. But it wasn't until my eyes found their way up the center aisle that the fear finally released.

Tank was standing there watching Lula with the predicted goo goo eyes, the hint of green in his boutonniere matching his vest under the black tuxedo.

And beside him stood the most amazing man I'd ever known. The man who made my heart beat faster and my chest feel warm no matter how often I saw him.

He looked the perfect mix of edible and dangerous in his tailored all black tuxedo, the touches of bright colors from my bouquet echoed on his lapel. His short dark chocolate hair was as perfect as his smooth, beautiful caramel face. His body language had always read confidence. But as he waited there for me, hands folded in front of him with total Zen, I could see it wasn't just the cocky swagger or radiated sexual energy. It was joy. Our eyes held. And every inch of me was filled with peace.

I didn't bother with the step touching. That was never going to be my thing. I just let his gravity pull me toward him across the crowded room, in awe of the way he looked at me. I knew my train was flared out behind me, the layer of lace and veil trailing out even further across the cathedral floor. The slender line of my gown embellished by the delicate lace that followed up the low neck and along my shoulders to flow down the open back. And none of it mattered to the man who held my gaze. All that mattered to him was that we were about to make promises before our families and the world and God that would seal us together for the rest of our lives.

My father met me at the top of the aisle and it took me a second to recognize that there were tears in his eyes. My father is not what you'd call an emotional man. His strongest feelings are about sports teams and pot roast and my grandmother driving him crazy. But leaning in to kiss my cheek and walk me the last few feet toward the love of my life, he was just shy of blubbering. Ranger smiled and shook his hand, accepting mine to pull me up to the alter. I lifted my skirt a few inches to reach the step and Ranger caught a glimpse of tired old rubber. The loving smile turning full on grin.

We faced the priest and he leaned into me. "Are you really wearing sneakers under your wedding dress?"

My smile quirked. "Uh-huh."

Ranger leaned closer to whisper in my ear. "This is why being with you always makes me think about sex."

"And here I thought it was you remembering the last time I was in a fancy dress."

"Babe I remember that every minute of my life."

I had to admit, I thought about it a lot too. It had involved him lifting my skirt to fit me with a lacey garter designed to hold a .38, and had progressed to a very up close, self-guided tour of his favorite places beneath said skirt. "Wait til you see my garter," I whispered back.

I was glad I was the only one who heard the very male groan.

The ceremony contained all the usual Catholic rituals. Lots of kneeling and standing and prayers in both Latin and English. And then we reached the vows. I'd assumed, since Ranger was a private guy, that we'd be saying the usual ones. I was very surprised when Ranger suggested we write our own. The nerves came back when the priest directed us to face each other. Gesturing for Ranger to go first.

The way he was looking at me felt like I was the only person in his whole world. "Stephanie, I spent a lot of time hoping I'd never realize just how far gone in love with you I was. Fool's errand, really. From the moment I met you there wasn't anything I could have done to stop it. Took me years to figure out how you got under my guard. I'd decided after the life I'd led that I could never afford to let anyone in. Resigned myself to knowing the things I'd done had ruined me. Made me unfit for companionship. And then you came along. Headstrong. Maddeningly defiant and refusing to take me seriously. And I told myself helping you was something I was just doing for fun. That you needed me to keep you safe from a world hellbent on your destruction. But really, it was you that was saving me. I don't know how you did it. How you took the dead thing in me and taught it to feel again. But you did. You saw in me something I hadn't been able to see in myself. Someone worth saving. I never realized before you just how much I lived in shadow, pulled up inside the darkest parts of myself. Until, like sunshine, you brought good into my life again. Warmed me by your grace and made me realize that if I did enough right, there was a chance I could someday see myself the way that you saw me. That if I found enough redemption I could someday be worthy of your light. And for that chance I promise I will live the rest of my life loving you, honoring you, protecting and obeying. For as long as we both shall live."

I could hardly breathe while he took my ring from Tank and slid it on my finger. A perfect fit in every way. The priest looked at me expectantly and it took an active miracle for me to not dissolve into a blubbery lump of tears.

"I'm going to remind you later that you said you'd obey me," I told him, trying to get a hold of myself. "You've been so many things to me. You were my mentor. My friend. My lover. The father of my child. It's hard to believe that you're about to be my husband. For a long time my future was murky. I had a crazy job that I loved one day and hated the next, and I never seemed to find a happy balance or a solid place to stand. I was stuck. Not going backward exactly, but not going forward either. I realize now that was because what I wanted was a future I didn't think I could ever have. This future. With you and Carlos. I used to think I'd have to settle for one life or the other. Either give up the bounty hunting to sit still in one place and be a housewife, or give up ever having a family for the sake of adventure. You never made me choose. With you I can have my cake and eat it too. You gave me a family. But you also gave me wings and taught me to fly. Every day I love you more, and the deeper this goes between us the more certain I am that you were always meant to be my future. Even before either of us let ourselves believe it. I can't in good faith promise that I'll always obey, or that I won't go goofy and make tons of mistakes. But I can promise to always trust you. Have faith in you. Cherish the amazing man you are and have always been. And I promise that no matter how deep and dark you think your soul might go, I'll always be there beside you. As your wife. Your friend. Your partner. All the days of my life."

Lula might have been snuffling when she gave me Ranger's black ring. I slid it on his finger. Then the priest pronounced us man and wife and we sealed our promises with a kiss.

ooo

The reception hall was way more packed than I'd anticipated, and it wasn't just the Rangeman presence. We'd let our mother's invite whoever they wanted. This apparently included half the burg and a full delegation of Cuban neighbors from it's Newark equivalent. I saw the butcher, the baker, several Giovachinni's, ladies I recognized from the beauty parlor and the senior center. I was surprised when I saw some of Joe's family, like his mom and Grandma Bella. Joe's mom was still wary of Ranger after he'd pretty much shoved his way into her house on his hunt for Uncle Sunny, but she was gracious to me. She'd always been pleasant enough when she thought I was her best shot at marrying off Joe, but now that he was honestogod engaged to a beautiful and devoted nurse and mother she was perfectly willing to give me credit for breaking her sons heart and making way for him to be truly happy. Even Bella seemed willing to let bygones be bygones. I saw it when she stopped to say something to Ranger. Even gestured him down so she could pat his cheek, his eyes crinkled in a way he usually reserved for my own grandmother's craziness.

"What did she say to you?" I asked him when she'd toddled off to find mischief elsewhere.

"She told me I was a good boy for bringing Joe and Celia together, and that I wasn't going to hell after all. And then she said she was having a vision that you and me would have eight more babies, starting with conceiving one on our honeymoon. Then she said visions make her tired and she had to lay down."

"Eight more?!"

"Babe. You don't have to take it seriously. She's just a crazy old lady."

"How can you be so sure?"

"You're right. It must be prophesy. Might as well stop taking your birth control now because I'm about to put another baby in you."

"Ha! Carlos is only six months old. I'd rather double or triple up on the birth control than have another one before he's two."

Ranger's humor softened. "You might want another one?"

I softened too, biting my lip. "Well, he is mind-blowingly amazing. I'm not completely opposed the possibility of giving him a little brother or sister when the time is right."

Ranger smiled and kissed me, putting a hell of a lot of gusto into it. The hall around us erupted into a chorus of woos and cheers and tinking glasses and Ranger pulled me flush against him and into a dip to give the people what they wanted. Ranger wasn't a man to be afraid of a little public display of affection.

We didn't get to do more than snack on our way around the tables, which made me sad because the food looked unbelievable. I did get a taste when we cut the cake, but then it was time for the garter and the bouquet tosses and I had to give up my dreams of having a whole slice. Ranger sat me down and went exploring under my skirt, doing some highly skilled groping while he removed the garter. From the look in his eyes he would have done it with his teeth if his daughter and grandmother hadn't been in the room. He slingshotted it to the waiting crowd of bachelors the same time I threw the bouquet. Lula went rhino mode and plowed through the gaggle of ladies, catching the bouquet midair.

And Tank caught her.

Ranger's chest touched my back, his arm snaking around my waist to hold me against him, his mouth on my ear. The sensations did funny things to my body. "It's almost time to make our escape. Is it safe to assume you want to change out of this incredible dress?"

"As much as I love it, it's not really convenient for travel, even when it's bustled."

He pressed that bustle harder against him until I could feel the outline of his body through it, mouth on my neck now. "Would you like help changing out of it?"

Oh yes please. "The dressing room isn't very big."

"I'm not one to back down from a challenge."

Ranger cut his eyes around the room to see who was looking, and then whisked me away out the side door and up the flight of stairs. He put my back on the door the moment we were inside the tiny coat closet dressing room the staff had indicated for us to put our things. Flicked the light on and the slide bolt shut. I was already panting. "Are you sure we shouldn't keep the light off so we won't get caught?"

"Babe, I've got more security on premises than any wedding in the history of this hall. No one will come looking if they know what's good for them." He let his eyes wander down my wedding dress, hands following. "Besides. I don't want to miss a single second of you in this dress. I'll be committing it's removal to memory."

He slid his hands behind me, kissing my neck as he eased the zipper down, letting the natural fall of the lace slip off my shoulders. His mouth moved down to my breast, and then over the sheer lace that floated with the silk. Across my stomach. Searching my legs again under my skirt with more purpose this time as he revealed them to his gaze. He kissed every inch until he saw the delicate white silk panties and let out the male groan again. Licked and nibbled my inner thighs to tease me. Then he slid his fingers up my waist through the legs of those panties and slid them back down, torturously slow. Letting him see everything.

I felt his warm breath first. Then the hot flick of his tongue. And then my husband put his mouth on me and kissed me so thoroughly I said a silent prayer thanking god for sturdy doors. I burst into flame right there and he smiled up at me. Looking wicked still fully dressed in his black tuxedo. He stood and tugged at the delicate dress, encouraging it to fall to the floor.

"Am I the only one getting naked?" I breathed, watching the hungry way he memorized every inch of my body.

The wicked smile was in his eyes too. "You are the only one putting on a new dress, Mrs. Manoso."

Hearing the way he said it with the tail end of an orgasm still whizzing around my body made it sound even more wonderful. "You promised to obey me, right?"

"This is true."

"Then off with the tux."

That got me all 200 watts. "Yes ma'am."

He didn't take it as slow as I would have liked. We were under pressure of being missed, after all. But even at that regular pace it was still incredibly empowering to see my husband take off the tailored tux one article at a time. When he was standing there gloriously naked in nothing but skin and muscle I gave him a come hither look and he stalked toward me, covering every inch of me with his warm body. He caught the back of one knee, and then the other, sinking into me against the door to make us one. I held tight to his shoulders, kissing him in a way that said I was so happy we'd finally found our forever.

He heard me holding back the gasping cries and covered my mouth with his to keep them between us. His whole body vibrating with mine when the bliss came. "Babe," he breathed against my lips. Like a confession. We clung to each other in the aftershock, listened to our hearts pounding in matched rhythm. He kissed my hair. My temple. My lips. Savoring the moment. "We just consummated our marriage."

"Yep. You're officially stuck with me."

He laughed. An interesting sensation the way we were still joined.

"Should we hurry and get dressed before we're missed?" I asked him.

"I'm pretty sure the sweat and satisfied smiles will be a dead giveaway whether we hurry or not."

"Oh boy. What if people figure out we were just up here having sex?"

"Babe, it's not exactly shocking. That is what married people do."

My chest warmed again, like it did every time he said it. "I'm your wife."

"You're my wife."

"And you're my husband."

He kissed me again, sweeter that time. And it suddenly didn't matter what other people might have thought. I got to have Ranger for the rest of my life, and that was what mattered.

Ranger got back in his tux while I put on my underwear, and then he helped me zip my traveling dress. It was a simpler echo of the fancy one, with a low cowl neck and a swirly knee length skirt that was shorter in the front than the back. It even came with a sexy pair of white strappy heels. We made sure we were both presentable and then went back down to the party, which was in full swing with music, and dancing, and flashing lights.

We found our parents sitting together at a table in the back of the room with Grandma Rosa, Carlos balanced on Mama's knee. He reached for me with a big grin and I scooped him up, snuggling him close.

"We're gonna take off," Ranger said to the mothers.

"So soon?" Mama said. "But you haven't had your first dance!"

"And I have a whole box of cigars to celebrate with," Ricardo said on the sly, showing us his pocket like he was trying to keep it from Mama. Her look was scolding, even if she didn't mean it.

"Dad, I don't smoke anymore anyway."

"Quitting doesn't count on your wedding day."

Carlos reached for Ranger next and Ranger lifted him up to kiss his neck while he gurgled and hugged Ranger's face. Rested the baby against his chest. "We have a flight to catch."

I noticed he didn't specify that said flight was chartered and therefore would wait for us as long as we wanted, but since I was as eager to be alone with him as he was me I didn't point this out. Carlos reached for me again and I took pleasure in taking him back. It was a game he played. He'd learned he could get passed around in circles and see all his people just by reaching. He came to me most often, but Ranger was a close second.

My heart squeezed just a little. "Maybe we should take him with us. It's hurting my heart just to think about not being with him tonight."

"Babe, we'll only be gone ten days. He'll be happy with my mother until we get back."

"But what if he needs me?"

"You've frozen a month's worth of breastmilk. He'll be fine."

"What if I need him?"

Ranger thought I was amusing. "If it's too hard we can fly home. Or I can fly Carlos and my mom to the Bahamas to join us on our honeymoon. Does that sound okay?"

I nodded. That could work.

I cuddled my precious baby one last long moment and then reluctantly passed him back to his grandmothers, his happiness all over him. Then we kissed our family, including Grandma, Lula, and Julie on the dance floor, and made our escape. Ranger even collected a whole bag full of food and cake from the kitchens on our way out, all prepared to go because my husband was a smart man who thinks ahead. I ate the cake on the drive to Trenton Mercer Airport. We stowed our things on the private plane and settled back in the chairs, the separation anxiety only a tingle compared to the strong feelings of happy.

Ranger put his arm around me, kissing my temple. "Are you ready for another adventure in paradise, Babe?"

"At least we won't be chasing a fugitive felon this time."

"That you know of. I wouldn't discount your luck in that regard."

I rolled my eyes at him, a pull at the corners of my mouth. "So what kind of adventure do you mean?"

"I'm talking the ten days with very little clothing on a private beach kind. Sun. Sand. Snorkeling in the surf. Making love on the shore as the waves lap over us. I even made sure our private villa has a hot tub."

"Did you say villa?"

"I did. Figured there was a better than good chance you'd get babysick and insist I institute plan B. Wanted to make sure there was space for my mom and Carlos to be nearby without putting a damper on all the intimate marital activities I have in mind."

"You think of everything."

He smiled, brushing a light kiss to my lips. We were already in midair, about to reach cruising altitude. His smile took on a wolf grin when the captain announced we were free to move about the cabin. "Babe."

The sound of it sent a tingle all the way through me settling in my good parts. That was a _Babe_ I knew by heart. The one that usually preceded a lot of nakedness and sexual satisfaction. "Yes?" I said, biting my lip.

He cut a look to the bathroom at the back of the plane. "Ever wanted to join the mile high club?"

Just to be clear, I don't think there was a club I wouldn't want to join as long as Ranger was involved. I cut my eyes around the cabin wondering how long it would take the flight attendant to notice we were missing. Looked back into my husband's eyes, the man I was spending the rest of my life with, and felt the excitement mixed with absolute peace I was going to get to keep for eternity. "I do."

* * *

Thank you all for joining me on this long journey as I completed the very last of my full length fan fiction stories!

I've appreciated all your support and kind words, and I know I've grown as an artist and storyteller because of all of you.

I know some of you will be sad that I'm not putting out anymore stories,

but think of it this way. I'm off to create brand new worlds to entertain you with!

I might have a few more shorts in me as some point in the future,

and I will definitely keep you updated on how my newest series is coming,

but for now I'll just say thanks! You're all awesome!

Much love,

J R Mai


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